Orlando City Head Coach Adrian Heath is preparing for another tough stretch of games.

“One of the important parts of how we work and train is keeping everyone fresh,” said Heath. “You have to look at the bigger picture when you have three games in a short period of six days.“

The Lions (8-1-2, 26 points) continue USL PRO regular season play this weekend against expansion side Phoenix FC (2-7-3, 9 points) on Friday and Antigua Barracuda FC (0-9-0, 0 points) on Sunday at Fifth Third Bank Field at the Florida Citrus Bowl. The fun doesn’t stop there, with the fourth round of US Open Cup play on Wednesday at Sporting Park against Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Sporting Kansas City.

The depth of the squad will be tested over the next week, with Heath saying that the entire squad may see playing time over the upcoming matches. Midfielders Kevin Molino (Trinidad & Tobago) and Jean Alexandre (Haiti) were both called up for national team duties, making them unavailable for Friday and Sunday. They will both be back next week for training.

“Virtually every player on the squad will get used this weekend,” Heath continued. “It gives us a chance to give guys minutes.”

Heath mentioned that players like Brian Fekete, Jonathan Mendoza and others will see more playing time than normal.

“I’m looking at Fekete, Mendoza, Justin Clark and others who, I think, will gain valuable minutes. The depth of the squad will be utilized in times like this. We have big games coming up and it’s important to have that depth to the squad.”