Orlando City vs. New York City – MLS, November 21, 2020

Orlando welcomes New York City to Exploria Stadium on Saturday, November 21, as the 2020 MLS Cup playoffs get underway.

The two sides have already met twice this season, with the Lions claiming a 3-1 victory over the Boys in Blue at the MLS is Back Tournament. In their most recent meeting, the teams produced a 1-1 draw last month.

You can find my prediction and betting pick for Orlando City vs. New York City below.

The leading online sportsbooks view Orlando City (2.45) as the marginal favorite to win this one, but as you can see, there really is very little to separate the teams.

New York City (2.50) only finished two points behind Orlando in the final Eastern Conference standings, so this is destined to be a tight matchup. The draw (3.55) could be worth considering.

A 12-match unbeaten streak spanning across three months kept Orlando at the top of the East throughout regular season.

The Lions’ remarkable run was finally brought to an end by rivals Inter Miami at the end of October, but Oscar Pareja’s men underlined their strength by bouncing back to win three of their last four games.

Recent victories over Atlanta United, Montreal Impact, and Columbus Crew prove that Orlando is ready the playoffs. The Lions’ late flurry ensured they finished as the second-highest scorers in the East, while they also boasted one of the best defensive records in the division.

Chris Mueller (ten goals, five assists), Nani (seven goals, five assists), and Daryl Dike (seven goals, three assists) have been on fire this year. Even the toughest defenses in the country will be afraid of coming up against Orlando’s free-flowing forward line in the coming weeks.

Finding a new gear. #HustleAndHunger pic.twitter.com/k4WWX1Ctxm

— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) November 12, 2020

Following a three-game winless run last month, it looked as though New York City might miss out on a top-six finish. The team was struggling for consistency, with star players underperforming.

However, the Boys in Blue managed to turn things around in style. Four straight victories at the end of the regular season saw the Bronx outfit finish comfortably in the automatic playoff places. NYC crushed Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, and the Red Bulls, scoring 13 goals along the way.

Valentin Castellanos led the charge. The Argentine bagged six goals in his final seven regular-season appearances and even netted a hat-trick against the Red Bulls. But his team-mates must chip in if the New Yorkers are to go deep into the postseason.

NYC is in the playoffs for the fifth year in a row, but the team hasn’t made it past the quarter-finals in that time. Ronny Deila will be hoping that his players can buck that trend.

This is set to be a closely-fought encounter between two evenly-matched teams. Both sides are heading into the playoffs on the back a series of positive results, so I can see this match going the distance.

With so much at stake, I’m expecting the score to be level after 90 minutes. I wouldn’t be surprised if extra-time and/or penalties are needed to decide this one.