Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja has asserted that both he and his team are here to win ahead of their game at home to Toronto FC this weekend.

Orlando lost their MLS opener against Philadelphia Union last time out and, according to Pareja, they are targeting big improvements on Saturday.

"I thought we had a game where we conceded too many mistakes," he said, on their defeat last weekend. "We're conscious of that, but when we see the function of the team, it seems like we are [going] in a good direction.

"In this sport, in this industry, we are here to win games."

As with many teams at this stage of the season, there are plenty of new faces on show at Orlando with three off-season signings coming in alongside draft picks and players promoted from the B team.

The longer they spend together, Pareja thinks, the better the team will become.

"We've been in the league for many years, and we understand the complexion of the roster and the way they glue together," he said.

"Sometimes it's easy, and it comes fast and others, it goes at a different speed. What we want is to have confidence in our players and in the players we brought here.

"Every day, they are going to gel better with us."

One of those signings was Croatian international Marco Pasalic, who joined from Rijeka as a designated player and scored both of Orlando's goals in the 4-2 defeat to Philadelphia. Pareja believes he is a player worth getting excited about.

"Very positive, the inclusion of a new player in a very short time, he has come on and impacted the game with two goals," he said.

"He can be very decisive in that part of the field, and that is so difficult. We are excited, and hopefully, we find many of those kind of performances from him."

Toronto head coach Robin Fraser, meanwhile, is hoping that his side can bring the same level of performance here as they had in their 2-2 draw at DC United in last weekend's opener.

"Overall, I thought it was really good," Fraser said on their performance. "I thought we started off with a few nervous mistakes. I think we grew into the game, guys got more comfortable in the spots they needed to be in and knew what their options were going to be.

"As confidence grew, certainly our stance changed. We started to be a little bit more aggressive."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Orlando City – Marco Pasalic

Pasalic scored both of Orlando City's goals against the Union in his MLS debut on Saturday, becoming the first player in the club's history to score multiple goals in his first MLS match.

The Croatian also registered seven shots during the match, which is at least three more than any other player.

Toronto FC – Jonathan Osorio

Jonathan Osorio scored Toronto FC's opening goal on Saturday and has now scored in 13 different seasons for Toronto. He is the third player in MLS history to score in at least 13 different seasons with a single club.

He also touched the ball 50 times, had two shots on target and registered a passing accuracy of 93.9% during the game.

MATCH PREDICTION – ORLANDO CITY WIN

Orlando City have lost only one of their last 10 meetings with Toronto (W7 D2), with that defeat coming last April.

The hosts have also won three of their last four home games against Toronto.

They are looking to avenge the 4-2 defeat to Philadelphia Union last weekend, which was the first season-opening defeat in the club's history (W3 D7 previously).

Toronto's travelling record ranked 20th in MLS in the 2024 season, having won four and lost nine of their 17 matches on the road.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Orlando City – 66.6% 

Draw – 18.2%

Toronto FC – 15.1%