MLS NEXT Pro: Match Preview - Chattanooga FC v Orlando City B
- Philip Farrell
- Apr 11
- 6 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
Match: Chattanooga FC vs. Orlando City B
Date: Saturday, April 11th, 2026. 19:00 (Eastern)
Venue: Finley Stadium, Chattanooga, TN.
Capacity: 20,412
How to watch: OneFootball, MLSNextPro.com, YouTube
CHATTANOOGA, Tn --- MLS Next Pro action returns to Finley Stadium this Saturday as Orlando City B visits Chattanooga. It's 7th taking on 5th as two teams with similar form on the season, and a history of tight games between them, look to gain the upper-hand as we hurtle toward the end of Spring.
Chattanooga (W:2 D:1 L:2 SOW:0 GF:10 GA:10 GD:0) are in seventh place coming into the game, and have two wins on the bounce. Their last league game saw them beat Columbus Crew 2 by two goals to nil, at home on March 28. This was followed up with a hard-fought 1-0 win over UPSL outfit Tennessee Tempo in the Open Cup, also at Finley Stadium. How this side would love to grab another three points and complete a flush of home wins before they host Atlanta United in the Cup on April 15, not to mention before they face a tough road trip to Crown Legacy straight after. Alex Krehl and captain Alex McGrath co-lead the club on goals scored, with three each. Chattanooga are coached by former captain Richard Dixon, who was placed in interim charge after the departure of Chris Nugent in pre-season.
Fifth-place Orlando (W:2 D:1 L:1 SOW:1 GF:10 GA:10 GD:0) are having a similar(ish) season. They also started the season off with a home loss but have looked good since, nabbing eight points across the following three games, including an away win over Carolina Core. Yet to keep a clean sheet, they’ve conceded 10 and scored 10 in the league, exactly the same tally as Chattanooga. Last time out they beat rivals Inter Miami II 4-2 on penalties after coming back from four goals down to tie the game. 18-year-old homegrown forward Jake Ellis is their top scorer on three goals this season so far. OCB is also led by an interim Head Coach in Julian Vergara.
The match starts at 7pm Eastern and, with an expected warm 75 degrees and clear skies at kick off, we can expect good conditions for an open game. Streaming will be available on MLSNextPro.com, the league’s YouTube channel, and the OneFootball app.
The History
Chattanooga: W:2 D:3 L:1 SOW:3 GF:9 GA:7 GD:+2
Orlando: W:1 D:3 L:2 SOW:0 GF:7 GA:9 GD:-2
Chattanooga and Orlando have played each other six times since their first meeting in MLS Next Pro back in April 2024. It is CFC who have the slight upper-hand, having won two and winning all three of the shoot-outs that followed ties. Undoubtedly though, games tend to be close between these sides.
Their most recent meeting, in August 2025 at Osceola County Stadium ended in a 2-2 draw. Nathan Koehler of Chattanooga scored a brilliant brace either side of goals from Thalles (now with Botafogo) and Shak Mohammed (Huntsville) for Orlando. Over the course of their six meetings, Mohammed is the top scorer in this fixture with four goals.
CFC and OCB will face each other another two times this season after Saturday’s match-up. On 18 July, Orlando will visit Finley Stadium again, while Chattanooga will travel to Florida on 19 August.
Report Cards and Lineups
Chattanooga:
Chattanooga are on a high at the moment, with two wins at home behind them. Keegan Ancelin and Alex McGrath were the scorers in the 2-0 win over Columbus, a game that saw two red cards, including one for the Crew’s goalkeeper after less than two minutes. Last Wednesday, CFC earned progression to the Last 32 of the US Open Cup after a 1-0 victory over Tennessee Tempo. Nathan Koehler scored the game's only goal with a header just before half-time. The win means that Chattanooga will host Atlanta United on the Wednesday immediately following this game against Orlando. Will this influence Dixon’s squad selection for Saturday?
Predicted Starting XI: Eldin Jakupović; Tate Robertson, Mattias Hanchard, Farid Sar-Sar, Anthony Sorenson; Daniel Mangarov, Alex McGrath (C), Isaiah Jones; Keegan Ancelin, Anthony García, Alex Krehl
Starting with the basics, I believe right-back Yves Tcheuyap is suspended, following his red card against Columbus. So, I imagine Tate Robertson will move from midfield, back to his more traditional right-back role. Against Tennessee Tempo, Dixon deployed playmaker Daniel Mangarov in an attacking midfielder, number 10 position, which he may do again here if Robertson is reverted to RB.
Swiss international Eldin Jakupović and captain McGrath were rested against Tempo. Could Dixon rest them again if he feels their fitness is integral for the big game against Atlanta? Dixon has played substitute goalkeeper Griffin Huff in both Cup games so far. I wonder if he’ll retain him against Atlanta or call on the more experienced Jakupović on Wednesday. If that were to happen, could we see Huff perhaps start a league game on Saturday? Questions, questions, questions…only Dixon himself knows the answer.
Much of the team picks itself. Farid Sar-Sar and Anton Sorenson are nailed on for CB and LB respectively. I don’t know if Dixon will return Mattias Hanchard to his place beside Sar-Sar or reward Nathan Koehler with a starting berth after his Cup heroics. Isaiah Jones is another who seems nailed on and has looked steady and reliable since CFC’s first game, that 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Crown Legacy when he struggled with the tempo of the game. Up front, it's anyone’s guess really, but I have a suspicion Keegan Ancelin might start.
My CFC player to watch on Saturday is Alex McGrath. The club captain and heartbeat of the team, his absence for most of 2025 left a huge hole in this side. Back to his best, he has three goals on the season, playing his familiar number 8 role. After missing the Cup game against the Red Wolves last season (which sold over 12,000 tickets) because of his injury, he’ll be desperate to face Atlanta in the Cup on Wednesday. So, this may affect whether he plays Saturday, but if he does, he’s a good bet to add to his goal tally for the season.
Orlando:
Interim Head Coach Julian Vergara has overseen a solid enough start to 2026 so far. After that opening day loss at home to Huntsville, OCB are now unbeaten in three games. They may be a little rusty coming up against Chattanooga, having not played since Sunday 22 March when they tied Inter Miami II 4-4. That was an extraordinary game that saw Miami go 4-0 up inside 49 minutes, only for Orlando to brilliantly rally and tie things up. Brazilian forward Pedro Leão scored his second goal of the season while Justin Ellis recorded his third. Venezuelan midfielder Gustavo Caraballo scored his first two goals of the season, his second, an olímpico direct from a corner kick, was the goal that tied the game. OCB then won the resulting PK shootout 4-2 to end a dramatic evening.
Predicted Starting XI: Tristan Himes; Bernardo Rhein, Titus Sandy, Zakaria Taifi, Jaylen Yearwood; Nicholas Lasheras, Dylan Judelson; Harvey Sarajian, Yutaro Tsukada, Justin Ellis; Pedro Leão
The above is a composite of the sides Vergara has put out so far. There’s plenty of room for rotation, especially in goal where Tristan Himes, Javier Otero and Juan Rojas all have at least one start to their name already. There’ve also been starts for Tahir Reid-Brown in defense, Caraballo, Issah Haruna and Dominik Baczewski in midfield, and Logan Tsopanoglou up front. Caraballo could well be started after his heroics against Miami. Reid-Brown, Yutaro Tsukada, and Zakaria Taifi have been involved with Orlando City’s MLS side in 2026.
Right-back Jaylen Yearwood is capped at senior level by Trinidad & Tobago. Meanwhile the youth and talent in this Orlando side is emphasized by the large amount players capped at youth international level, including Reid-Brown (USA U20), Dylan Judelson (Canada U20), Justin Ellis (USA U19), Jackson Platts (USA U18), Caraballo (Venezuela U17), Clovis Archange (Canada U17), Matthew Belgodere (Puerto Rico U17), Pedro Leão (Brazil U16), Caleb Trombino (USA U16), and Dominik Baczewski (Poland U15).
My Orlando player to watch this Saturday is Harvey Sarajian. The 21-year-old winger has two goals and three assists to his name for Orlando this season and you suspect that he’ll be integral to their gameplan if they’re to trouble Chattanooga. He’s also second in fouls suffered for the club in 2026, meaning he wins free-kicks, and key passes. In January, he was signed to a first-team contract through the 2027-28 season, with club options to 2031. The Lions selected Sarajian, a Wake Forest University product, with the fifth overall pick in the SuperDraft. He’s been on the bench for Orlando City in MLS three times already this season and is on course to make his debut for the senior team soon.
Analysis and Predictions
There’s so much about these two teams that leads me to think it will be a tie on Saturday. Not only do they share a remarkably even record against one another, they’re both led by interim Head Coaches, have both scored and conceded 10 goals in the league this year, and both have improved since losing their first games at home. OCB hasn’t kicked a ball in two weeks while CFC might have one eye on their Cup game with Atlanta. Given OCB hasn’t held a clean sheet yet, there’ll surely be goals. 2-2.
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