Atlanta United will play host to New England at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The game will be televised by Apple TV. You can follow Doug Roberson’s coverage on X (formerly known as Twitter) @DougRobersonAJC.
New England manager: Caleb Porter
New England away record: 0-1-0
Atlanta United home record: 0-0-0
New England goals for/against: 1/4
New England expected goals for/against: 2.6/5.2
Atlanta United goals for/against: 0/1
Atlanta United expected goals for/against in 2023 regular season: 0.5/1.8
Atlanta United all-time vs New England: 5-4-4, 4-1-2 at home
New England key players
Carles Gil: 1 goal
Tomas Chancalay: 10 shots, two on target
Atlanta United key players
Thiago Almada: Three shots, one on target
Giorgos Giakoumakis: Three shots, one on target
Storylines to watch
1. Getting the first goal. It took Atlanta United into the opening minutes of the second half against Columbus to show a semblance of a cohesive offense. With the loss, Atlanta United’s record when the opponent scores first fell to 9-59-22. When Atlanta United scores first, it is 87-15-24.
2. Stopping Gil. The midfielder has tormented Atlanta United with three goals and four assists in eight matches. Caleb Wiley said the best way to try to neutralize him is to prevent him from getting on the ball, which he quickly acknowledges is easier to say than do. “We have the players to stop him. It’s about us doing that,” Wiley said.
Injury reports
Atlanta United
None reported
New England
None reported
What was said
“Even though we lost, I think it was still a step in the right direction. And it was the first game. Now, we didn’t get to have the outcome that we wanted. But there was parts in the game that we thought were promising. We’ll come to the training, and we’re working on those things.” – Wiley
“I hope Saturday will be a great event in front of our fans. I heard a lot of great things about the first game here. I hope there will be a lot of people. And they will help us to win first game of the season.” – Bartosz Slisz
“I think we have a really good culture in the locker room right now. And yeah, we’re excited for this year. And we’re really, really stoked for Saturday night. I think it’s going to be fun for a lot of the new guys to play in front of however many people, 60-70,000 people. Yeah, it just is the best atmosphere to play in front of.” – Brooks Lennon
“I will say our mindset is not now to be conservative; our mindset needs to be more aggressive.” – Gonzalo Pineda
Atlanta United’s predicted 11
Goalkeeper Brad Guzan
Centerback Derrick Williams
Centerback Stian Gregersen
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
Southern Fried Soccer podcast can be found
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Atlanta United’s 2024 schedule
Feb. 24 Columbus 1, Atlanta United 0
March 9 vs. New England, 7:30 p.m.
March 17 vs. Orlando, 7 p.m., FS1
March 23 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
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.
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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