MLS Cup Playoffs: Nashville SC vs. Orlando City scouting report for first-round series

In its short time as an Major League Soccer franchise, Nashville SC has played Orlando City SC more than all but one other team.

So it's only fitting that Nashville will have to get through Orlando to advance in this season's MLS Cup Playoffs.

Nashville (13-11-10, 49 points), the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, faces second-seeded Orlando City (18-7-9, 63 points) in a best-of-three, first-round series beginning Monday (6 p.m. CT, Apple TV) with Game 1 at Exploria Stadium.

Game 2 is scheduled for Nov. 7 (8 p.m., Apple TV) at Geodis Park. If necessary, the series will be decided with Game 3 in Orlando on Nov. 12 (4 p.m., Apple TV).

Here's what Nashville fans should know about Orlando City.

Orlando City scouting report

Hot streak heading into playoffs

While Nashville SC has struggled to find consistency in MLS play since its 10-game league unbeaten streak ended in mid-June, Orlando City has been the league's best team since that point.

Orlando went 13-3-4 over its final 20 league games and won eight of 11 matches after the MLS resumed its season following a break for the inaugural Leagues Cup in July and August.

This uptick in form has already borne itself out against Nashville, which beat Orlando 2-0 on April 1 before falling at home 1-0 to the Lions on Oct. 4.

Potent forwards

Orlando possesses two of the top 13 scorers in MLS, one of just two clubs that can say such.

Facundo Torres, a 23-year-old winger who's already made 14 appearances for the Uruguay national team, leads the Lions with 14 goals. Meanwhile, striker Duncan McGuire is a finalist for Rookie of the Year after a 13-goal season. Five of those goals came in Orlando's final five games.

"He's a guy who just seems to find a way through his work ethic," Nashville defender Walker Zimmerman said. "I don't think you look at him and say, oh, he's this crazy athletic speedster with flair to him. He's hard-nosed. He will press, he will work, he will find a way to score goals."

Penalty prowess

Under the new MLS playoff format, any match tied after 90 minutes in the first round will go immediately to penalties. If it does, Orlando will be feeling confident.

The Lions have never lost a penalty shootout in their history. They're 8-0 all-time, including a victory over Nashville in last season's U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal.

MORE: Why Nashville SC can — and can't — make a deep run in MLS Cup playoffs

In 2023, in fact, Orlando hasn't missed a single penalty. Torres took all six spot kicks for the Lions during the regular season and scored on all of them, and Orlando made all of its attempts in a 5-4 shootout win over the Houston Dynamo in the Leagues Cup group stage.

Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: MLS Cup Playoffs: Nashville SC vs. Orlando City scouting report