Charlotte FC set to square off against Orlando City in a midweek matchup

Charlotte FC has a quick turnaround following their 2-1 loss to CF Montréal over the weekend, taking on Orlando City SC in a midweek matchup.

Charlotte and Orlando have already faced each other once this season, a 2-2 draw in Charlotte back on June 19.

Charlotte is in the midst of a season long, five-match winless streak and only scoring four goals in that span. Meanwhile, Orlando is coming off back-to-back 3-0 wins are home over Nashville SC and the New England Revolution. The win against New England putting them in fifth place in the MLS Eastern Conference, two points ahead of Charlotte in seventh.

Charlotte’s defense has performed well limiting goals this season, allowing 31 goals, the second fewest in Major League Soccer. However, the attack has only managed to score 32 goals, the fourth lowest mark in MLS.

Charlotte has not been great on the road this season, going 4-7-3 through 14 matches on the road so far while being outscored 19-17 in those matches. They will have their hands full with an Orlando team that has been stellar at home recently. Orlando had a slow start to the season at home, with a 1-5-3 home record through their June 15 match against LAFC. Since the loss to LAFC, Orlando is undefeated at home with a 4-0-1 record in MLS regular season play while outscoring opponents 16-3.

This is a crucial match for Charlotte, a win would put them back above Orlando in the Eastern Conference standings with just five matches remaining after this one. It may seem like a tall task for Charlotte based on Orlando’s current form, but Charlotte has played spoiler to one of the best teams in MLS on the road this season, when they traveled to take on FC Cincinnati and defeated them 3-1 on July 13.

The match is scheduled to kickoff at 8:15 p.m. EST on Wednesday, September 18 and will be available to watch on Apple TV and FS1.