By Alejandro Guzmán
Orlando City will look to keep its Leagues Cup run alive when it hosts Atlético de San Luis on Wednesday, August 12, at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT) at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando.
The Lions enter the match with three points after opening Phase One with a 2-1 victory over Monterrey before falling 2-1 to Club León. Orlando still has a chance to advance to the Knockout Rounds, making its final Phase One match a crucial one for the home side.
Atlético de San Luis, meanwhile, has already been eliminated after a 4-2 loss to Inter Miami and a 4-1 defeat to Nashville SC. Despite being out of contention, head coach Diego Mejía made it clear that his team will approach Wednesday’s match with the intention of winning rather than treating it simply as preparation for its return to Liga MX action.
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
- Orlando City won their only previous matchup via penalty kicks in 2024 Leagues Cup
- Record at Leagues Cup: Orlando City (8-7), Atlético San Luis (2-7)
LAST FIVE GAMES:
- Orlando City:
- 3 Wins, 0 Draws, 2 Losses
- Atlético San Luis:
- 0 Wins, 2 Draws, 3 Losses
MAIN STORYLINES:
- The Lions enter the final Phase One match with their Leagues Cup hopes still alive and will look to take advantage of playing at home.
- Although Atlético has already been eliminated, Mejía said his team will not view the match as preparation for its upcoming Liga MX campaign. He plans to use the best possible lineup while managing the workload of players who have accumulated significant minutes.
- Mejía described Orlando as “a very strong team” and said the Lions present a different challenge from Inter Miami. He characterized Orlando as a more positional team that looks to have the ball and shares some similarities with San Luis' own playing philosophy.
- Llorente's individual production: Mejía praised Llorente's impact since joining the club and his ability to score in important moments but stressed that the team's priority is turning individual performances into points.
KEY FACTORS:
- Orlando City:
- Have scored 10 goals and conceded six in its last five matches.
- Tyrese Spicer has recorded three goals and two assists in his last five matches, while Antoine Griezmann has added two goals and one assist during the same stretch.
- Marco Pašalić scored Orlando's goal against León and will look to build on that performance as the Lions look for another attacking spark.
- Wilder Cartagena enters the match with two yellow cards accumulated in Phase One. A third yellow card against Atlético San Luis would result in a one-match suspension for Orlando City's next Leagues Cup match.
- Atlético San Luis:
- Enters the match looking for their first win since April 22nd, they have gone six straight game without a win.
- Have scored seven goals and conceded 13 in its last five matches.
- Rafael Nicolás Llorente has scored four goals in his last five matches, while David Rodriguez has added two. The pair has combined for six of San Luis' seven goals during that span.
WHAT TO EXPECT?
Orlando enters Wednesday’s matchup with the clearest incentive: a chance to extend its Leagues Cup campaign. The Lions will need to turn their recent attacking production into a positive result while maintaining the defensive discipline required against a San Luis side that still possesses dangerous individual scorers.
San Luis may be out of contention, but Diego Mejía made it clear that his team will continue to compete. The head coach emphasized that Atlético represents an important institution and that the team approaches every match with the objective of winning.
The Mexican side will also be looking for a response after Mejía described the defeat to Nashville as its worst performance in the last five matches. He pointed to defensive mistakes and a drop in physical intensity as key factors in the loss, while insisting that his players must learn from those errors and move forward.
Mejía’s assessment of Orlando adds another layer to the matchup. He views the Lions as a strong, possession-oriented team that plays a more positional style than Inter Miami while sharing some similarities with San Luis in its desire to control the ball.
With Orlando fighting to keep its Leagues Cup campaign alive and San Luis looking to close out the tournament on a positive note, Wednesday’s meeting brings together two teams with different motivations as they face each other again following their 2024 encounter.
Playing at home with its Leagues Cup campaign on the line, Orlando City enters with 60% of the market on Polymarket. Atlético de San Luis, already out of contention, sits at 19%.
