Atlanta United (6-4-4) will play at Orlando (5-4-5) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Exploria Stadium. The game will be broadcast on the MLS channel on AppleTV. You can sync the radio broadcast from 92.9 FM through the app.
Here is a scouting report for the game:
Orlando manager: Oscar Pareja
Orlando at home: 2-3-2
Atlanta United on road: 1-3-3
Orlando goals for/against: 16/16
Orlando expected goals for/against: 14.3/17.5
Atlanta United goals for/against: 28/24
Atlanta United expected goals for/against: 21.9/17.4
Orlando key players
Duncan McGuire: Four goals, two assists
Ercan Kara: Four goals, one assist
Martin Ojeda: Three goals, three assists
Atlanta United key players
Thiago Almada: Six goals, seven assists
Giorgos Giakoumakis: Eight goals
Brooks Lennon: One goal, six assists
Talking points
1. Can team improve its road form? Atlanta United is 0-3-3 away from home since defeating Charlotte in its first road match. The team has only two road victories over its past 25 such matches, though one of those wins came in Orlando in September. Orlando City is the only Eastern Conference team with more losses than wins at home (2-3-2).
Injury reports
Atlanta United
Questionable: Brad Guzan (MCL), Santiago Sosa (ankle)
Out: Amar Sejdic (calf), Erik Lopez (ankle), Ozzie Alonso (ACL recovery), Caleb Wiley (international duty), Franco Ibarra (yellow-card accumulation) and Luiz Araujo (one-game suspension).
Orlando
Questionable: Abdi Salim (knee)
Out: Gaston Gonzalez (thigh), Luca Petrasso (thigh) and Michael Halliday (international duty)
What was said
“It’s a tough league to play on the road. I think there are plenty of teams that have struggled on the road as well, but it’s one of those things. In MLS, it’s very tough to win on the road. (Atlanta United has accrued six points from road games.) But the more points we can get on the road, the better we’ll be throughout the season.” – defender Miles Robinson
“We’re still evaluating what’s the best (option) for Saturday.” – manager Gonzalo Pineda on replacing the suspended Araujo
“Film, training, talking, communication, promoting communication among the players among the unit. So we watch the film, show the specific actions that we need to do better with awareness. We trained very well yesterday in different situations, how we can adjust, be aware of the situation and react quickly. In the transition moments, can we identify what exactly is the situation? Whether it’s attacking or defending. ... Decision making, awareness of the situations, management of the game, minutes of the game, red cards, all those situations – we need to understand that better. That’s experience. That’s leadership. That’s many things. But obviously we try to coach our players to understand those situations on the field.” – Pineda
“It’s a hot game, humid atmosphere (in Orlando). But it’s a matter of us digging in and understanding what we came in to do, and that’s (get) three points.” – Robinson
Officiating crew
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistants: Brian Dunn, Tom Felice
4th Official: Justin Howard
VAR: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
Atlanta United’s predicted 11
Goalkeeper Quentin Westberg
Centerback Miles Robinson
Centerback JuanJo Purata
Right fullback Ronald Hernandez
Left fullback Andrew Gutman
Defensive midfielder Santiago Sosa
Midfielder Matheus Rossetto
Attacking midfielder Thiago Almada
Right wing Brooks Lennon
Left wing Derrick Etienne Jr.
Striker Giorgos Giakoumakis
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Atlanta United’s 2023 MLS schedule
Feb. 25 Atlanta United 2, San Jose Earthquakes 1
March 4 Atlanta United 1, Toronto FC 1
March 11 Atlanta United 3, Charlotte FC 0
March 18 Atlanta United 5, Portland 1
March 25 Columbus 6, Atlanta United 1
April 1 Atlanta United 1, New York Red Bulls 0
April 8 Atlanta United 1, New York City FC 1
April 15 Atlanta United 2, Toronto FC 2
April 23 Atlanta United 2, Chicago 1
April 29 Nashville SC 3, Atlanta United 1
May 6 Inter Miami CF 2, Atlanta United 1
May 13 Charlotte 3, Atlanta United 1
May 17 Atlanta United 4, Colorado 0
May 20 Atlanta United 3, Chicago 3
May 27 at Orlando City SC, 7:30 p.m.
May 31 vs. New England Revolution, 7 p.m., FS1
June 7 or Sept. 13 at Los Angeles FC, 10:30 p.m.
June 10 vs. D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
June 21 vs. New York City FC, 7:30 p.m.
June 24 at New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
July 2 vs. Philadelphia Union, 4 p.m., Fox
July 8 at CF Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
July 12 at New England Revolution, 7:30 p.m.
July 15 vs. Orlando City SC, 7:30 p.m., FS1
Aug. 20 at Seattle Sounders, 10:30 p.m.
Aug. 26 vs. Nashville SC, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 30 vs. FC Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 2 at FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Sept. 16 vs. Inter Miami CF, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 20 at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 23 vs. CF Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 4 at Philadelphia Union, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 7 vs. Columbus Crew, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 21 at FC Cincinnati, TBA
