Who will start for Atlanta United (0-1-0) in Sunday’s home opener against D.C. United (0-0-1) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Just like last week, I’m going to have to give you a few scenarios.
The first is if centerback Leandro Gonzalez Pirez returns from injury. If he does, this is what I think you will see:
The big change is moving Jeff Larentowicz from centerback to defensive midfielder. I think manager Gerardo Martino may switch things and move Julian Gressel from attacking midfielder back to defensive midfielder, which will require moving Darlington Nagbe from defensive midfielder to attacking midfielder. That means that Miguel Almiron will stay on the left. On Friday, Martino said the team had trouble winning the ball with a central midfield that included Nagbe, Gressel and McCann.
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Scenario No. 2: No Gonzalez Pirez.
If Gonzalez Pirez can’t play, that mean Michael Parkhurst and Jeff Larentowicz will be the centerbacks.
I still think that Martino may switch Gressel and Nagbe. I think the switch may make better use of their talents. I think Kratz might replace McCann in the starting 11 as a defensive midfielder alongside Gressel.
Here’s a third scenario, one that I think most of you would like to see, but I don’t think you will see Sunday:
Lastly, here is the lineup that I think Martino will use:
And, here’s an 11 I find interesting that I’m sure y’all will rip apart :) :
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