Match Preview: Chattanooga FC v Orlando City B

Philip Farrell
4 hours ago
6 min read

Chattanooga’s Alex Krehl (L) and Orlando’s Titus Sandy Jr (R) compete for the ball when the side’s last met in May. Photo credit - Orlando City SC Communications

NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com

Match: Chattanooga FC vs. Orlando City B

Date: Saturday, July 18, 2026. 19:00 (Eastern)

Venue: Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN. Capacity: 20,412

How to watch: OneFootball | MLSNextPro.com | YouTube

Tickets: https://www.mlsnextpro.com/chattanoogafc/tickets/

CHATTANOOGA, Tn --- We have a critical clash near the summit of MLS Next Pro on Saturday evening. After France and England compete for bronze in Miami, Chattanooga Football Club and Orlando City B will face-off. The number one spot in the Eastern Conference is up for grabs for whoever can win on Saturday.

Chattanooga (W:8 D:5 L:5 SOW:4 GF:34 GA:29 GD:+4) sits in fourth place and are on a six game unbeaten streak. Under interim Head Coach Richard Dixon they seem to have broken their usual summer slump (2024 and 2025) and continue to rack up points, even if they’re rarely emphatic in victory. Most recently they earned a 1-1 draw and 4-2 shootout win away at fellow independent side Carolina Core. Alex Krehl continues to impress with his goalscoring form and is now on 11 league goals, the second-most in MLS Next Pro.

Third-place Orlando (W:8 D:6 L:4 SOW:3 GF:39 GA:32 GD:+7) look strong in 2026 and gave CFC a 5-2 beating in late May, the most goals Chattanooga have conceded in a match this year. Led by goals from Pedro Leão (7) they’re the second-highest scorers in all of MLS Next Pro, but have the worst defensive record in the top-half of the table. Edward Wilding’s side are a unit, seemingly unreliant on any particular star or talisman with several players contributing multiple goals and assists.

The match starts at 7pm Eastern with expected scattered thunderstorms that may affect play and temperatures at about 85 degrees at kick off. Free streaming will be available on the OneFootball app, MLSNextPro.com, and YouTube. The game will be officiated by Shaye Lane of Massachusetts.

The History

Chattanooga: W:3 D:3 L:2 SOW:3 GF:14 GA:13 GD:+1

Orlando: W:2 D:3 L:3 SOW:0 GF:13 GA:14 GD:-1

Chattanooga and Orlando have played each other eight times since their first meeting in MLS Next Pro back in April 2024. It is CFC who have the slight upper-hand, having won three and winning all three of the shoot-outs that followed ties.

Prior to this season, games were close, with three ties and none of the three wins won by more than a two goal margin. 2026, however, has seen more emphatic victories. In April, they met at Finley Stadium where CFC earned a convincing 3-1 win thanks to a goal from captain Alex McGrath and a Damien Barker John brace. Harvey Sarajian got a consolation for Orlando. The tables were turned in early June at Osceola County Stadium as OCB struck five goals, the most conceded by CFC this year, courtesy of Sarajian, Ignacio Gómez, Justin Hylton, and a Pedro Leão double. Alex Krehl and Luke Husakiwsky had put CFC into a 2-1 lead at half-time, before Orlando’s comeback.

Shak Mohammed, formerly of OCB and now with Huntsville City, is the top scorer in this fixture with four goals.

CFC and OCB will face each other once more this season after Saturday’s match-up when Chattanooga returns to Florida on August 19.

Report Cards and Lineups

Chattanooga

Chattanooga recently jumped from 10th to fifth in the MLS Next Pro Power Rankings, the biggest jump of any club in the league. As well as its six games unbeaten, the club has also lost in just one of its last 10 matches and has collected 14 points of the last 18 available. They’ve also won six of their nine league home games at Finley Stadium in 2026. High on confidence and with a strong crowd behind them at Finley, not to mention a proven goalscorer on a roll; this will be as tough a test as it gets for Orlando.

Possible CFC lineup. Credit - buildlineup.com

Chattanooga’s most recent outing saw them tie 1-1 away at Carolina Core, with Alex Krehl getting the goal (his 11th of the season). A perfect set of PKs by Tate Robertson, Yuval Cohen, Anthony Garcia, and Luke Husakiwsky, saw them win the shootout 4-2.

There’s a satisfying core to this squad that Richard Dixon knows he can rely on and are likely the first names on his teamsheet, starting at the back with goalkeeper Eldin Jakupović. The Swiss international played every minute of league action for CFC last season, recording a league-best 10 clean sheets and 124 saves, and was named Goalkeeper of the Year. He continues to be elegantly reliable and assured and is showing no signs of this 41 years, aside from his evident experience. Sitting in front of Jakupović is Argentine center-back Farid Sar-Sar. He also played every minute of league action for CFC in 2025 and is the club’s vice-captain. The heart of the defense, he leads his side in clearances (17) and is immaculately careful, committing relatively few fouls (5) for how engaged he is.

Robertson, converted this year from right-back to midfield playmaker is the side’s key creative outlet. Wonderful on set pieces, he has seven goals of his own in 2026. He co-leads the side in assists with four and should he notch another on Saturday, will join club legend Juan Hernandez as the top all-time assist in club history on 24. Captain Alex McGrath is just one assist behind Robertson so may also take that crown for himself. McGrath is a traditional number 8, a box-to-box midfielder equally adept at defending but also scoring. He’s also a tremendous character and perfect ambassador for his club. Next season, expect Robertson and McGrath to also break the club’s all-time appearance record.

Finally, there’s Krehl, a new signing who joined after spending a few years playing in Spain’s lower leagues. A traditional number 9, he offers CFC something they haven’t really had since Mehdi Oumari, a consistent goalscorer. That’s not to say there aren’t important players elsewhere. CFC has always been a ‘team first’ club, never dominated by one or two individuals, and the likes of Barker John and Daniel Mangarov (also on 4 assists) have been as key to those six unbeaten games as anyone.

Orlando

Orlando City B are coming into the last of a three-game roadtrip. They were ranked 8th in those recent Power Rankings. Most recently, they earned a 2-1 road win over FC Cincinnati 2 thanks to strikes from Ghanaian midfielder Issah Haruna and 16-year-old Matthew Belgodere, his third as a professional. Haruna’s goal was unusual due to the fact that it was assisted by Venezuelan goalkeeper Juan Rojas. Head Coach Edward Wilding was appointed on April 9, taking over the role following Manuel Goldberg’s appointment as Orlando City SC’s Assistant Coach. Wilding’s first game in charge was that 3-1 loss at CFC but since then OCB has won seven of his 13 games in charge.

Possible OCB lineup. Credit - buildlineup.com

I believe talented forward Harvey Darajain is injured and unavailable for Saturday. That will be an enormous blow to the team as Sarajuan has five goals an drive assists this season, contributing to a total of 10 of OCB’s

Brazilian Pedro Leão is the side’s top scorer with seven goals, he also has one assist. Defender Bernardo Rhein, midfielder Ignacio Gómez, and winger Gustavo Caraballo have also played with Orlando’s senior team in 2026. So, while that means they are immensely talented, their availability on Saturday to Wilding cannot be guaranteed. Caraballo is a particularly dangerous prospect. The side’s key playmaker, he has four goals and three assists across 12 MLS Next Pro appearances this season. Caraballo notched two goals for Orlando City SC in the US Open Cup this year against Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Analysis and Predictions

I think Chattanooga will win on Saturday. With a striker on such a blaze of form, a squad high on confidence and shouldering few known injuries, a traditional weak summer form seemingly broken, and a bumper weekend crowd cheering them on, they have all the ingredients to get three points.