Atlanta United (6-11-7) will host Columbus (12-3-7) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The game will be televised on AppleTV, and you can follow Doug Roberson’s coverage on X (formerly Twitter) @DougRobersonAJC.
Columbus manager: Wilfried Nancy
Atlanta United home record: 4-5-3
Columbus away record: 6-2-3
Columbus goals for/against: 46/20
Columbus expected goals for/against: 37.1/26.3
Atlanta United goals for/against: 33/35
Atlanta United expected goals for/against: 35.9/32.4
Columbus key players
Cucho Hernandez: 13 goals, eight assists
Diego Rossi: Eight goals, 10 assists
Cristian Ramirez: Seven goals, four assists
Atlanta United key players
Saba Lobjanidze: Six goals, five assists
Daniel Rios: Six goals, two assists
Brooks Lennon: Six assists
Xande Silva: Two goals, two assists
Injury reports (as of July 19)
Atlanta United
Out: Caleb Wiley (Olympics), Noah Cobb (CONCACAF U20 championship) and Edwin Mosquera (knee).
Columbus
Out: Evan Bush (arm)
What was said
“We’ll have a respect for them, a great respect for them, but not a fear. And I think that’s important that the guys know that. We will respect them. And they deserve the respect. They’ve proven themselves, they’ve won things. So there’s no doubt about that. And I will give the respect to Wilfried, to the guys, Darlington (Nagbe), they do a great job. " – Atlanta United interim manager Rob Valentino
“It’s not that easy. But we are focused on ourselves as a team, fixing small details, because obviously we are not getting the results that we wanted. Columbus, we know that play very differently, play good football. We need to stick together to the plan that the coach says.” – Ronald Hernandez
Officiating crew
Referee: Rosendo Mendoza
Assistants: Corey Parker and Jeffrey Swartzel
Fourth official: Nabil Bensalah
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
AVAR: Fabio Tovar
Atlanta United’s predicted 11
Goalkeeper Brad Guzan
Centerback Derrick Williams
Centerback Luis Abram
Right fullback Brooks Lennon
Left fullback Ronald Hernandez
Midfielder Bartosz Slisz
Midfielder Tristan Muyumba
Midfielder Jay Fortune
Midfielder Xande Silva
Midfielder Nic Firmino
Striker Daniel Rios
For more content about Atlanta United
Follow me on Twitter/X @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 going to listen to the podcast for the first time, please follow it on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts ... 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 Atlanta United 3, Chicago 0
April 6 Atlanta United 1, NYCFC 1
April 14 Atlanta United 2, Philadelphia 2
April 20 Cincinnati 2, Atlanta United 1
April 27 Atlanta United 1, Chicago 1
May 4 Minnesota 2, Atlanta United 1
May 7 Atlanta United 3, Charlotte Independence 0 in U.S. Open Cup
May 11 D.C. United 3, Atlanta United 2
May 15 Cincinnati 1, Atlanta United 0
May 18 Atlanta United 1, Nashville 1
May 21 Atlanta United 0 (5), Charleston 0 (4) in U.S. Open Cup
May 25 LAFC 1, Atlanta United 0
May 29 Atlanta United 3, Miami 1
June 2 Charlotte 3, Atlanta United 2
June 15 Atlanta United 2, Houston 2
June 19 Atlanta United 1, D.C. United 0
June 22 Atlanta United 1, St. Louis 1
June 29 Atlanta United 2, Toronto 1
July 3 New England 2, Atlanta United 1
July 6 Real Salt Lake 5, Atlanta United 2
July 9 vs. Indy Eleven 2, Atlanta United 1
July 13 Montreal 1, Atlanta United 0
July 17 Atlanta United 2, NYCFC 2
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.
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