Info to know: Atlanta United vs. Columbus

Atlanta United (13-9-10) will host Columbus (15-9-8) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Kickoff will be at 7:39 p.m. The game will be televised on Apple TV. You can sync the radio broadcast from 92.9 FM through the app.

Columbus manager: Wilfried Nancy

Columbus on road: 4-8-4

Atlanta United at home: 10-3-3

Columbus goals for/against: 64/44

Columbus expected goals for/against: 52.8/39.6

Philadelphia past five league matches: L-W-T-T-W

Atlanta United goals for/against: 63/50

Atlanta United expected goals for/against: 45.7/41.6

Atlanta United past five matches: T-W-T-W-L

Columbus key players

Cucho Hernandez: 14 goals, seven assists

Christian Ramirez: Eight goals, three assists

Diego Rossi: Three goals, two assists

Julian Gressel: One goal, one assist

Atlanta United key players

Thiago Almada: 11 goals, 16 assists

Giorgos Giakoumakis: 15 goals, two assists

Brooks Lennon: Four goals, 10 assists

Caleb Wiley: Four goals, four assists

Saba Lobjanidze: Three goals, three assists

Talking points

1. Bouncing back. Atlanta United was beaten 3-2 by Philadelphia on Wednesday in a match marred by several questionable refereeing decisions, most of which went against the Five Stripes. How will the team react Saturday if a call goes against it early in the match?

2. The chase. Atlanta United must win this match to have any chance of making the top four in the Eastern Conference and securing home-field advantage in the first round of the best-of-three playoffs. This should be a high-scoring match.

3. Other matches to watch. Atlanta United supporters may want to set alerts for scores from these games because they will help determine if their team can finish top four: Orlando at New England and Nashville at Philadelphia.

Officiating crew

Referee: Ismail Elfath

Assistants: Chris Elliott, Ben Pilgrim

Fourth official: Malik Badawi

VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero

AVAR: Nick Uranga

Injury reports

Atlanta United

Out: Machop Chol (leg), Ozzie Alonso (leg) and Tyler Wolff (leg).

Columbus

TBD

What was said

“I think it’s great that we play at home. Obviously, when you play at home, we’re a different team almost. We’re so lively; we’re so aggressive. We’re so up for the game and the battle, and it’s gonna be a battle, tactically. But it should be a good, good game.” – Miles Robinson

“What I told the players is I don’t want the distraction to be on external things that affect our attention from the game and from our process and from what we are doing. And by that, I’m saying like, ‘yeah, the referees,’ and the very bad referee we haven’t gotten in many games cannot be a distraction for us to just be focused on that. So I can take care of that on the sideline, whatever. But they have to remain focused on the process and what they have to do on the field.” – Gonzalo Pineda

“We have a lot of respect for their coach and for what he has done with that team. Their game model is very, very good. In some ways, we’re similar, some tendencies that we both have. But they’ve been very, very consistent in that, so it’s a tough game, and for us, it’s great to face those type of matches where you’re facing good opponents.” – Pineda

Atlanta United’s predicted 11

Goalkeeper Brad Guzan

Centerback Luis Abram

Centerback Miles Robinson

Right fullback Brooks Lennon

Left fullback Caleb Wiley

Defensive midfielder Matheus Rossetto

Midfielder Tristan Muyumba

Attacking midfielder Thiago Almada

Winger Xande Silva

Winger Saba Lobjanidze

Striker Giorgos Giakoumakis

For more content about Atlanta United

Follow me on Twitter @DougRobersonAJC

On Facebook at Atlanta United News Now

On Instagram at DouglasDavidRoberson

Atlanta United coverage on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Southern Fried Soccer podcast can be found

Apple - https://apple.co/3ISD6Ve

Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3L8TN0C

Google podcasts - https://bit.ly/32KlZW3

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.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a special offer for our podcast listeners. If you subscribe today, you can get three months of unlimited digital access for just 99 cents. That’s all of our sports coverage, politics, breaking news, investigations, food and dining, and so much more on AJC.com. Plus, access to our ePaper and our assortment of newsletters. So, join our community by going to subscribe.ajc.com/podcasts that’s subscribe.ajc.com/podcasts so you always know what’s really going on.

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