Sporting Kansas City at Orlando City SC
2025 MLS Regular Season | Match 26
Saturday, Aug. 16 | 6:30 p.m. CT (6:40 kickoff)
Inter&Co Stadium | Orlando, Florida
Watch: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV | Pub Partners
Listen: 810 AM or 103.7 FM | SKC App
More: 5 Things | By the Numbers | Game Notes
Sporting Kansas City will travel to central Florida to play Orlando City SC at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday at Inter&Co Stadium in the team's final cross-conference match-up of the regular season.
The MLS Matchday 29 opener will be available to watch on Apple TV with an MLS Season Pass subscription in English (Nate Bukaty and Devon Kerr) and Spanish (Sergio Ruiz and Walter Roque) in addition to local radio coverage on 810 AM and 103.7 FM (Blake Aerni and Jon Kempin). Pub partners in the Sporting Pub Network will also show all of the action, including watch parties at Meat Mitch Barbecue (3620 W. 95th St., Leawood, KS) and The Soccer Lot (2525 Jefferson St., Kansas City, MO).
Sporting Kansas City last visited Inter&Co Stadium just over six years ago on Aug. 14, 2019 and now returns with the series deadlocked after eight all-time meetings with each side earning three wins to go along with a pair of draws. Most recently, Kansas City cruised to a 3-0 victory at Children's Mercy Park on Aug. 24, 2024 with goals from Jake Davis, Daniel Salloi and Remi Walter.
Sporting returns to the road after a 2-0 home loss to Western Conference leaders San Diego FC last weekend, highlighted by the debut of centerback Alan Montes as a late substitute. The 24-year-old joined the club on loan after making 119 appearances with LIGA MX sides Necaxa and Monterrey.
While SKC sits eight points below the playoff line with nine games remaining, Orlando City has climbed to fourth in the Eastern Conference with three straight league wins capped off by a 4-1 demolition of rivals Inter Miami CF last weekend. The Designated Player trio of Martin Ojeda, Luis Muriel and Marco Pašalić each scored in the win, giving the group a combined 41 goals this season across all competitions.
The top scoring team in MLS, Orlando is led by Ojeda with a team-high 14 goals while ranking second in the league in assists (13) and total goal contributions (27). The Argentine playmaker has recorded a goal contribution in 11 straight matches, which stands as the third longest streak in MLS history behind former MLS MVPs Josef Martinez (15 games in 2019) and Sebastian Giovinco (12 games in 2018).
Defensively, Orlando is anchored by World Cup veteran Pedro Gallese in goal and U.S. Men's National Team defender Alex Freeman at right back. The hosts have also bolstered their squad with the addition of two left-sided players this month with the arrival of winger Tyrese Spicer in a trade with Toronto and outside back Adrián Marín via a transfer from Braga.
Saturday's showdown comes four days before Orlando City makes a cross-country trek to take on Toluca in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals in southern California and head coach Oscar Pareja will be without a handful of players for ORLvSKC. In addition to a pair of players (Wilder Cartagena and Yutaro Tsukada) with season-ending injuries, Cesar Araujo is suspended (caution accumulation) while Duncan McGuire has been sidelined since May with a shoulder injury and Joran Gerbet has been out since June with a thigh injury.
