Here are the five Atlanta United games I'm most interested in watching this upcoming season following the release of the 2018 MLS schedule on Thursday:
March 11 vs. D.C. United: The Five Stripes couldn’t solve the puzzle that was D.C. United last season, falling to the Gridlocks three times. If it didn’t cost the team nine points, and the second seed in the playoffs, it would have been possibly funny. Though D.C. United did finish dead-last in the East with 32 points, the team has significantly upgraded its talent and should contend for a playoff spot this season. The rebuild started last season with the addition of Paul Arriola and continued with the signings of Frederic Brillant and Darren Mattocks and continued with Venezuelan national team defensive midfielder Junior Moreno.
April 7 vs. LAFC: Much like Atlanta United last season, LAFC is attracting attention for its exemplary roster building, starting with manager Bob Bradley. The squad has added Lawrenceville’s Walker Zimmerman and Laurent Ciman to anchor the defense, Carlos Vela, Latif Blessing and Marco Urena at forward and Benny Feilhaber at midfielder to pull the strings. Though the team has zero depth, it already looks to be one of the most exciting teams in the West.
May 13 at Orlando City: Now that Nashville has been approved as an MLS expansion team, it will be interesting to see what becomes of this “rivalry” with Atlanta United. Orlando City has made quite a few moves this offseason, including adding Sacha Kljestan and securing Dom Dwyer with a new contract, but I’m not sure they are any better now than they were last season. Having said that, this should still be an exciting game played in one of the nicer stadiums in MLS.
June 13 at Columbus Crew: Columbus, we hardly knew ye. This will likely be Atlanta United’ last trip to Mapfre Stadium in Columbus because the Crew seem destined for Austin, which I hear is a cool city but that’s not enough to justify moving a franchise there. Having said that, the Crew are a fun team to watch, one that knocked the Five Stripes out of the playoffs last season in a penalty-kick shootout after playing one of the more exciting scoreless games I’ve ever seen.
Oct. 28 at Toronto: The teams will have already met on Aug. 4, but this will be the finale and, like last season, there may again be playoff seeding on the line. The team has kept its nucleus of Sebastian Giovinco, Jozy Altidore, Victor Vazquez and Michael Bradley.
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