Orlando City vs Columbus Crew live stream: how to watch MLS Eastern Conference semi-final today, team news

Orlando City vs Columbus Crew live stream

The teams are in and Palmeiras loanee Iván Angulo starts in the forward line for Orlando City, with fellow South American Facundo Torres also up top along with homegrown Duncan McGuire. Mauricio Pereyra captains the side as usual, with Swede Robin Jansson and Peru international Pedro Gallese in goal. Columbus Crew, meanwhile, start with top scorer Cucho Hernández up front as expected, the Colombian supported by Diego Rossi. Yaw Yeboah also gets the nod in midfield, while Darlington Nagbe captains the side next to him.

You can watch Orlando City vs Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference semi-final of the MLS Cup Playoffs around the world today with the Apple TV Plus MLS Season Pass. Read on to find out how much it costs in your country, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Full details on how to watch Orlando City vs Columbus Crew today just below.

Orlando City vs Columbus Crew: match preview

The MLS Cup Playoffs are boiling down to quite the denouement after the best-of-three Round One matches. We're now at the Conference semi-finals stage, with a winner-takes-all single-game fixture to decide the finalists. First up is Orlando City vs Columbus Crew, in the Eastern Conference, which pits the meanest defense left in the MLS Cup against the tournament's most thrilling attack. It's a battle of coaching ideologies, too, and a game not to be missed.

Orlando City may be a relatively new MLS franchise, coming into being only in 2015, but Óscar Pareja's side has been in resolute form this season proving their defensive mettle in registering home-and-away 1-0 victories over Nashville in Round One.

The Lions finished second in the Eastern Conference, conceding just 39 times in 34 outings, with a better-than-the-sum-of-their-parts squad that thrives under Pareja's pragmatic approach. Peru international goalkeeper Pedro Gallese has been consistently excellent this season. Orlando can still attack, though, and beat Saturday's opponents in a 4-3 thriller back in September.

Under head coach Wilfried Nancy, Columbus Crew are one of the most attacking teams left in the MLS Cup 2023. Playing with a front-foot high press, the Crew scored more regular season goals (67) than anyone else and it's testament to Nancy's coaching philosophy that their forward-thinking mantra has got them to the playoff semi-finals.

Striker Cucho Hernández has struck three times already in the postseason, where they remain the top scorers after winning a deciding Round One game 4-2 against Atlanta United. Nancy says "the scoreboard isn't important" compared with how his players execute his attacking instructions. MLS Cup champions in 2008 and 2020, can the Crew brings their big-game experience into this massive encounter?

Orlando finished second, six points ahead of Columbus in third, but that comes to nought in a one-game shootout for a spot in the Eastern Conference final. Follow our guide as we explain all the ways to get the Orlando City vs Columbus Crew live stream online and wherever you are today. Don't miss this massive game.

How to watch the Orlando City vs Columbus Crew live stream worldwide

Watch Orlando City vs Columbus Crew

There's some brilliant news if you're a soccer fan living in more or less any country around the world and want to keep up-to-date with all the 2023 MLS Cup Playoff action – you can catch every game, including Orlando City vs Columbus Crew, live on Apple TV Plus with an MLS Season Pass or by paying monthly.

So, most importantly, what's the cost? In the US, viewers can watch every MLS game for $14.99 per month or, if you prefer an MLS Season Pass, $29 for the rest of the 2023 campaign, which continues until 9th December. The plan doesn't include the standard Apple TV Plus, but if you already subscribe to Apple's movie and television service, that fee drops to $12.99 per month or $25 for the season.

In the UK it's £14.99 for pay monthly, reduced to £12.99 if you already have Apple TV Plus, with the MLS Season Pass coming in at £25.

Meanwhile, if you live in Australia, the monthly plan will set you back AU$22.99, reduced to AU$19.99 if you already have Apple TV Plus. Also, if you're lucky enough to have an Optus Sports subscription, you have free access to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV Plus.

Traveling outside your home country right now? 

Use ExpressVPN to watch your regular MLS Cup Playoff service from abroad. See below for more details.

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Watch the Orlando City vs Columbus Crew live stream from anywhere

If you're abroad right now and struggling to tap into your usual coverage of the MLS Cup Playoffs, you'll want a VPN. This'll help you circumvent the geo-blocking that will try to stop you watching an Orlando City vs Columbus Crew live stream in particular parts of the world.

They're a useful means of getting around this issue, are cheap, and easy to set-up as well. Here's how it's done.

Use a VPN to watch Orlando City vs Columbus Crew from anywhere:

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Another great perk is the fact that it comes with a 30-day money back guarantee and 3-months FREE, so you can see if it's right for you with no strings attached.

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Once you've downloaded the software, just follow the prompts to install it then select the location you want to relocate your IP address to - it really is that easy.

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