Though the stakes are high and the opponent difficult, Atlanta United’s manager and players say they won’t feel any extra pressure when they host Toronto on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
If the Five Stripes defeat Toronto, they will secure at least a home game in the MLS playoffs, which will start with a one-game elimination round as soon as Wednesday.
If the Five Stripes defeat Toronto and a few other results go their way, they can secure a bye in the first round of the playoffs and give some of their tired and injured players a few days of rest before hosting a game in the second round of the playoffs.
All of the games will kick off at 4 p.m., which makes scoreboard watching very difficult, even if the members of the team wanted to do so, and none interviewed during the week said they would.
“We just have to do our part, which is win,” Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino said.
Atlanta United is in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, with 54 points. It trails second-place NYCFC by two points, third-place Chicago by one point and leads fifth-place Columbus by one point. The only places within the top six that are locked are first, occupied by Toronto and which needs just a draw Sunday to set an MLS record for points in a season, and sixth, occupied by New York Red Bulls.
The scenarios are as convoluted as a John Grisham novel:
To clinch the second seed, which comes with a bye in the first round of the playoffs, Atlanta United requires a win over Toronto (20-5-8) along with NYCFC either drawing or losing to Columbus at Citi Field in Queens, N.Y., and Chicago drawing or losing at Houston. With those results, Atlanta United, NYCFC and Chicago could be tied on points (57), but Atlanta United would take second after tie-breakers.
To clinch the third seed, which will host the sixth seed in the first round of the playoffs, Atlanta United needs to win and for Chicago to draw or lose at Houston. With those results, Atlanta United would have 57 points and Chicago no more than 56 points. If Atlanta United draws with Toronto and Chicago loses, the teams will be level at 55 points, but the Fire will take the third seed after tiebreakers.
To clinch the fourth seed, which will host the fifth seed in the first round of the playoffs, Atlanta United needs only to win or for Columbus to lose. If Atlanta United draws, Columbus must win to take fourth. If Atlanta United loses, it will need Columbus to lose. If it loses and the Crew draw or win, Atlanta United will drop into fifth after tiebreakers.
At the very least, Atlanta United wants to host a playoff game for two reasons: success and fans. The team is 5-1-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and outscored opponents 24-6 with five shutouts. It has announced that it has sold more than 70,425 tickets for Sunday’s game, which will break the league’s single-game attendance mark Atlanta United set against Orlando City in September.
Sunday should be fun.
“I think fans deserve a win and for us we want to at least be third or fourth,” midfielder Julian Gressel said.
Beating Toronto, as most teams in MLS have learned the past two seasons, won’t be easy. Using a 3-5-2 formation, Toronto leads the league in goals scored (72) behind strikers Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco, and goal-difference (plus-37) behind goalkeeper Alex Bono and defenders Drew Moor, Eriq Zavaleta and Chris Mavinga. Atlanta United is second in both categories.
It will be interesting to see if Toronto manager Greg Vanney fields his strongest lineup Sunday because the team produces no matter which players he selects. Toronto has hummed along this season with a 13-1-3 record at home (Atlanta United was one of the draws) and 7-4-5 on the road. The seven wins are the most in the league.
“Every time they rotate, you can look at it and say that’s a B squad, but they are winning every single time,” said Atlanta United’s Mark Bloom, who played for Toronto from 2013-16. “They are getting production out of a guy who’s (normally) not in the 18 when he gets called upon.
“They’ve probably gotten double-digit points just from guys who aren’t in the squad most games. Those points add up throughout the season.”
