Info to know: Atlanta United vs. Chicago

Atlanta United (2-2-0) will host Chicago (1-2-2) at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The game will be televised on Fox and for free on AppleTV. You can follow Doug Roberson’s coverage on X (formerly known as Twitter) @DougRobersonAJC.

Chicago manager: Frank Klopas

Atlanta United home record: 2-0-0

Chicago away record: 0-1-2

Chicago goals for/against: 9/10

Chicago expected goals for/against: 7.6/8.7

Atlanta United goals for/against: 6/4

Atlanta United expected goals for/against: 5.0/5.5

Atlanta United all-time vs Chicago: 7-5-2, 6-1-0 at home

Chicago key players

Hugo Cuypers: Two goals

Brian Gutierrez: Two goals, one assist

Fabian Herbers: Two goals, two assists

Kellyn Acosta: One goal

Atlanta United key players

Saba Lobjanidze: One goal

Brooks Lennon: Two assists

Injury reports

Atlanta United

Out: Stian Gregersen (knee) and Daniel Rios (calf).

Chicago

None reported.

Storylines to watch

1. Where will the goals come from? Missing Giorgos Giakoumakis and Thiago Almada, Atlanta United was shut out in last week’s 2-0 loss at Toronto. It created eight chances. Both are back and playing at home, where Atlanta United is 2-0 with six goals.

2. Will Noah Cobb start? Cobb started against Toronto and played well, according to manager Gonzalo Pineda and centerback Derrick Williams. With Gregersen out with a knee injury, it’s likely that Cobb will start again. Williams said communication and making sure everyone stays compact will be key.

3. Scoring in transition. Atlanta United wants to be a possession-based team, but has been very successful scoring goals in situations where it wins the ball in its defensive third and then counterattacks. Taking advantage of those situations against Chicago, which likely will press, will be key.

What was said

“I think all these experiences combined give us a good idea, as the guys come back and continue to gel as a group, and learn to do these things on the fly where we don’t need to go into halftime and kind of reflect. We can do it during the game.” – Tyler Wolff

“We felt like we had some good actions this past game, but couldn’t finish it or maybe a missed touch or miscommunication on the run to the pass.” – Nic Firmino

“Their first press is pretty good. I think they press pretty hard at the start. They’ve got some good individual players. The new striker looks a handful. And I think they look like a different team than last year. So it’s going to be a tough game. But they’re coming to the Benz, and we know how much we enjoy playing there. Williams

Officiating crew

REF: Lukasz Szpala

AR1: Nick Uranga

AR2: Kevin Lock

4TH: Sergii Demianchuk

VAR: Kevin Stott

AVAR: Ian McKay

Atlanta United’s predicted 11

Goalkeeper Brad Guzan

Centerback Derrick Williams

Centerback Noah Cobb

Right fullback Brooks Lennon

Left fullback Caleb Wiley

Defensive midfielder Bartosz Slisz

Midfielder Tristan Muyumba

Attacking midfielder Thiago Almada

Winger Saba Lobjanidze

Winger Xande Silva

Striker Giorgos Giakoumakis

For more content about Atlanta United

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Atlanta United coverage on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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If you are listening to us for the first time, please follow us on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast ... and if you like what you hear, please give us a good rating so we can grow the show. If you have questions about the MLS team, you can email Doug Roberson at droberson@ajc.com, DM him on Twitter @dougrobersonajc or call 404-526-2527.

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Atlanta United’s 2024 schedule

Feb. 24 Columbus 1, Atlanta United 0

March 9 Atlanta United 4, New England 1

March 17 Atlanta United 2, Orlando 0

March 23 Toronto 2, Atlanta United 0

March 31 vs. Chicago, 3:30 p.m., Fox

April 6 at NYCFC, 7:30 p.m.

April 14 vs. Philadelphia, 2:30 p.m., Fox

April 20 vs. Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.

April 27 at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.

May 4 vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.

May 11 vs. D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.

May 15 at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.

May 18 at Nashville, 1:30 p.m.

May 25 vs. LAFC, 7:30 p.m.

May 29 at Miami, 7:30 p.m.

June 2 vs Charlotte, 4:30 p.m., Fox

June 15 vs. Houston, 7:30 p.m.

June 19 at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.

June 22 at St. Louis, 8:30 p.m.

June 29 vs. Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

July 3 at New England, 7:30 p.m.

July 6 at Real Salt Lake, 9:30 p.m.

July 13 at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

July 17 vs. NYCFC, 7:30 p.m.

July 20 vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m.

July 26 vs. D.C. United in Leagues Cup, 7:30 p.m.

Aug. 4 vs. Santos Laguna in Leagues Cup, 4 p.m.

Aug. 24 at L.A. Galaxy, 10:30 p.m.

Aug. 31 at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 14 vs. Nashville, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 18 vs. Miami, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 21 at Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 28 at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 2 vs. Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 5 vs. Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.

Oct. 19 at Orlando, 6 p.m.