ORLANDO, Fla. – Orlando City SC doesn’t have time to dwell on its loss to Atlanta United FC from May 13. Just five days after the Lions’ loss that ended their record six-game winning streak, they will travel to face a side they have beaten just once in their three-season history: Toronto FC.

From the start, TFC have dominated Orlando City, out-scoring the Central Florida side 11-1 in three wins in 2015. The Lions, then, earned their first and only two results against TFC in 2016, winning 3-2 on June 25, 2016, and drawing 0-0 on Sept. 28, 2016.

Toronto (2-6-1, 7 points) solidified its dominance on the overall series, winning both of last season’s meetings by a combined score of 5-2. In total, Orlando City trail Toronto in the overall series 1-6-1.

Now, Orlando City (6-3-1, 19 points) are presented with a unique opportunity to start a new winning streak and earn points against a struggling, injury-laden side they have historically struggled against.

Here’s what to expect from TFC when they host the Lions on Friday at 8 p.m.

TFC to Play Without Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore

Toronto will play without its two best attacking players in forwards Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore. Both players have been menaces against Orlando City since the series began, combining for 14 of TFC’s 20 goals against the Lions.

Since 2015, Giovinco has scored eight goals against City, including tallying a hat-trick in a 4-1 Toronto win on Aug. 5, 2015. Last season, the 31-year-old also recorded two separate braces in a 2-1 win on May 3, 2017, and a 3-1 win on July 5, 2017.

Giovinco will miss Friday’s match against City, as he will serve a red-card suspension earned in the 90th minute of TFC’s most recent loss, a 3-2 decision in favor of the New England Revolution.

Altidore has presented nearly the same threat against the Lions. In the two teams’ first-ever meeting on April 26, 2015, he led TFC to a 2-0, shutout win with a second-half brace. He tallied two more goals in the teams’ final meeting of 2015, a 5-0 decision in favor of Toronto on Aug. 22, 2015. In total, the 28-year-old has notched six goals against City.

The American is out nursing his foot after undergoing surgery on May 8. He is expected to miss four to six weeks.

“Yeah, about the missing [players], for me, personally, I don’t think about this,” Lions center back Amro Tarek said before training on May 16. “I don’t know a lot of players in the league, so I don’t look at the names or the players. So, I think the other players, too–we just want to play our game; we want to win each game, so we don’t care against who we play.”

Reigning MLS Cup Champs Starting 2018 Slowly

TFC have been one of the most dominant sides in recent league history, going to the playoffs in the past three seasons and making MLS Cup appearances in the last two, winning last season.

Toronto was also making headlines in non-MLS play during the start of 2018. TFC made a historic run in the 2018 Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football Champions League, finishing as the runner-up and ultimately losing to Club Deportivo Guadalajara 3-3 (4-2) on penalty kicks.

TFC’s league play, however, has faltered lately, as they’ve earned just seven points in their first nine games, so far earning 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Canadian side’s Champions League play has influenced that, as apparent by its worst defeat of the 2018 season, so far.

The Houston Dynamo defeated a Toronto side without Giovinco, Altidore and midfielder Michael Bradley 5-1 on April 21. TFC have also been shut out three times this season, as they’ve allowed the second-most goals (18) in the East.

“I’m not real concerned about going to play a team that’s lower in the standings because it’s Toronto,” City head coach Jason Kreis said before training on May 16. “If we don’t have respect for Toronto, we don’t have respect for anybody. This is a very god team–a team that’s a little bit hard-done with some decisions that have gone against them in the past couple of games…

“We believe that it’s going to look like a Toronto that we know a lot about and we have a ton of respect for. So it’s a really, really difficult place to go…”

Toronto Among Most Injured Teams in MLS

According to the latest MLS injury report released on May 15, TFC are among the most injured teams in MLS. Toronto is one of seven teams with at least six players listed as out or questionable for games this week.

Altidore is the only forward who will miss Friday’s match for Toronto. He has scored twice in three starts and three appearances, this season, recording a brace against Real Salt Lake on March 30.

Also missing will be defenders Justin Morrow, Drew Moor and Nick Hagglund. Morrow and Moor have been prominent fixtures in Toronto’s defense since 2016. In the two previous seasons, the duo has combined for 18 goals and six assists in 10,188 minutes, 116 appearances and 115 starts.

Midfielder Nicolas Hasler will miss Friday’s match with a quad strain, too, while defender Eriq Zavaleta is listed as questionable. Hasler recorded three goals and an assist in only 10 appearances and 759 minutes in 2017. As for Zavaleta, he started 27 of his 29 appearances in 2017, playing 2,356 minutes.

“From my perspective, all I see is a very difficult opponent,” midfielder Oriol “Uri” Rosell said before training on May 16. “I don’t care if they are last or they are on top of the standings. At the end, doesn’t mean anything because, when you start playing, you don’t think what position they are. You just play as good as you can.

“It seems like a topic, but every game is difficult, and I think, this game in Toronto, even when it’s away, it’s gonna be even more difficult.”

For more on the Lions, as they look for their second-ever win, third-ever result against Toronto, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.

To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.