Atlanta United at D.C. United: Three things to watch

Atlanta United will attempt to win its first road game in its second try when it plays at D.C. United on Saturday.

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The Five Stripes (2-1-1) were defeated 3-0 by Colorado in their first road game this season. The team was depleted by injuries and paperwork issues, so the final score didn’t reflect the quality of the performance.

D.C. United (2-2-0) will offer a slightly different test than the team has faced this season because it will pressure Atlanta United whenever and wherever it has the ball. D.C. United doesn’t care how much it has the ball. It just wants to get up the field with it as quickly as possible.

A key for Atlanta United, according to manager Gonzalo Pineda, is to be efficient and accurate when it has the ball. It must pass with the right pace with players moving and creating rotations.

“We’ve trained how to cover that,” Pineda said “And hopefully that’ll work.”

Here are more things to watch in the MLS game:

Will key players be available? It appears so. Pineda said Thursday that he anticipates that striker Josef Martinez, centerback Miles Robinson and fullback Ronald Hernandez will be eligible for selection. Martinez and Hernandez have started four games, Robinson three.

The trio were with their national teams during the recently completed World Cup qualifying cycle of games.

Tyler Wolff and Caleb Wiley, who were with the U.S. U-20s in Argentina, also have returned and are available. Wolff has four appearances with one assist. Wiley has one goal in two appearances.

Where will Marcelino Moreno and Thiago Almada play? Moreno, who has one goal and two assists, had its first start of the season in the previous game, a 3-3 draw with Montreal on March 19, after working his way back from an injury sustained in the first week of the preseason. He slotted in at left wing, which pushed Wolff to attacking midfielder. Results weren’t positive for either player. Moreno didn’t attempt a shot, but was fouled four times in 64 minutes.

Moreno has played across the midfield for the team since he was purchased during the 2020 season, but he has been most effective as an attacking midfielder, with seven of his 11 goals and four of his nine assists coming when he started there.

Pineda didn’t seem too concerned, saying that he likes Moreno’s ability to cut inside, which results in Andrew Gutman becoming the winger down the left.

“I still think that he can be very, very good on the flank,” Pineda said. “He’s pretty good dribbler. He’s very creative in there. Maybe I change him. I have to see where he can be more valuable for the team.”

A part of the problem is that Almada, the team’s newest Designated Player, prefers to play attacking midfielder. He scored his first goal for the team against Montreal from a central location.

“Marcel, Thiago, all those guys are difference makers on any team in the league, so for me to have those guys in front of me that I can pass to, and I know that they’re going to probably create something special, at least two or three times a game, it’s really encouraging,” Gutman said. “And it just makes me more confident to play and do my job even better.”

What is the level of the team’s confidence? The team went through some mood swings against Montreal. Starting with the good vibes of the great start, which resulted in a goal by Martinez in the sixth minute, followed by the low of allowing three goals in a 14-minute span near the end of the first half. The positivity returned with two goals scored in the final seven minutes to salvage a point from the home game.

While it was not great to give up the three goals, it’s a result to be appreciated because it likely wouldn’t have happened last season, said Brooks Lennon, who scored the third and tying goal with a free kick in the second minute of stoppage time.

“I think it helped the confidence of the group because you know we were playing down a player and down two goals at the time and not dominating the game,” midfielder Santiago Sosa said. “So for us to be able to come back, I think it gave us a positive a positive mental boost.”

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Atlanta United’s 2022 MLS schedule

Feb. 27 Atlanta United 3, Sporting KC 1

March 5 Colorado 3, Atlanta United 0