Eastern Conference foes clash when the Columbus Crew host Orlando City for Matchday 7's Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire.
How to watch & stream
When
- Sunday, April 12 | 7 pm ET/4 pm PT
Where
- ScottsMiracle-Grow Field | Columbus, Ohio
Record
- 11th in Eastern Conference
- 5 points, 1W-3L-2D
What to know
Columbus earned their first win under head coach Henrik Rydström last weekend, cruising to a 3-1 victory at Atlanta United.
Wessam Abou Ali netted a second-half brace, while USMNT defender Max Arfsten tallied 1g/1a in the road match.
Those three points will go a long way for Rydstrom, who was hired during the offseason after Wilfried Nancy departed to lead Scottish powerhouse Celtic FC.
Should Columbus reach a two-game winning streak, it'd mark their first triumph at home under Rydstrom. Previously, they settled for a 0-0 draw with Chicago Fire FC and suffered a 1-0 loss against Nashville SC.
Who to watch
- Max Arfsten: The 2026 FIFA World Cup hopeful featured for the United States during the March international window. He's earned regular call-ups under head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
- Wessam Abou Ali: The Palestine international striker is in the way-early Golden Boot presented by Audi hunt with 5g/1a.
- Diego Rossi: Will Rossi get back on the scoresheet? The Uruguayan forward has been held in check in four straight games.
- Steven Moreira: Moreira is roughly two months away from representing Cape Verde at their first-ever World Cup. Anticipation is building for the 2024 MLS Defender of the Year.Â
- André Gomes: In his three starts for Columbus, Gomes has shown the experience you'd expect from a veteran Portuguese international with Premier League, Ligue 1 and LaLiga experience.
Predicted XI
How does that saying go again? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Record
- 14th in Eastern Conference
- 3 points, 1W-5L-0D
What to know
Orlando are chasing a turnaround after losing their last three road matches by a combined 16-0 score.
That first defeat, a 5-0 setback at New York City FC in early March, preceded the club mutually parting ways with head coach Oscar Pareja and naming MartÃn Perelman as interim head coach.
While the Lions rebounded in Perelman's first match in charge, earning a 2-1 win over CF Montréal, they've since suffered a 5-0 loss at Nashville SC before the March international break and a 6-0 defeat at LAFC last weekend.
Did those Nashville and LAFC results come against early Supporters' Shield contenders? Yes. But Orlando have conceded a league-high 23 goals, putting them on pace to smash the MLS single-season record for goals against.
Looming over all this is Antoine Griezmann's July arrival from LaLiga side Atlético Madrid. Significant improvements are needed before the French legend formally joins their attack.
Who to watch
- Marco PaÅ¡alić: The left-footed winger, alongside FC Dallas striker Petar Musa, hopes to represent Croatia at this summer's World Cup. Â
- MartÃn Ojeda: The Argentine attacker has a team-best two goals this season. He set a club record for single-season goal contributions (39) last year.
- Maxime Crépeau: Crépeau is jockeying with Inter Miami CF's Dayne St. Clair for Canada's starting goalkeeper job at the 2026 World Cup. Â
- Braian Ojeda: It's still early days in Orlando for the Paraguay international, who's eyeing a World Cup trip. He spent 2022-25 with Real Salt Lake.Â
- David Brekalo: Amid all the changes in Orlando, the Slovenian international is one of the team's most experienced defenders.
Predicted XI
Is Griffin Dorsey (lower back) healthy enough to return to the starting XI? What about Robin Jansson (foot)? Those defenders would give the Lions a major boost.
Few strikers in MLS are in better form than Columbus' Wessam Abou Ali. He faces an Orlando defense that had no answers for LAFC's Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-Min last weekend. Does another Abou Ali brace (or even a hat trick) await on Matchday 7?
