Atlanta United (1-0-0) will host Toronto (0-1-0) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The game will be broadcast for free on the MLS channel on AppleTV. You can sync the radio broadcast from 92.9 FM through the app. You can follow the coverage of Doug Roberson, who has covered the franchise since 2014, on twitter @DougRobersonAJC.
Here is a scouting report for the game:
Toronto manager: Bob Bradley
Toronto on road: 0-1-0
Atlanta United at home: 1-0-0
Toronto goals for/against: 2/3
Toronto expected goals for/against: 2.1/1.0
Atlanta United goals for/against: 2/1
Atlanta United expected goals for/against: 1.9/1.0
Toronto key players
Federico Berndardeschi: One goal
Mark-Anthony Kaye: One goal
Sean Johnson: Three goals allowed
Atlanta United key players (stats last season; this season)
Thiago Almada: Six goals, 12 assists; 2 goals this season
Luiz Araujo: Four goals, six assists
Andrew Gutman: Four goals, two assists
Brooks Lennon: Two goals, seven assists; 1 assist this season
Talking points
1. Will Atlanta United keep shooting from distance? The team took 20 shots, 17 from outside the penalty box, in its victory against San Jose.
2. Can Almada keep producing magic? Almada scored two world-class goals to bring his team three points. It will be interesting to see what he will do this week.
3. Will the new faces play? Derrick Etienne and Luis Abram came on as second-half subs and made a difference. Giorgos Giakoumakis couldn’t play because his visa hadn’t been processed. It was approved Thursday night, so he is eligible for selection against Toronto.
Injury reports
Atlanta United
Out: Santiago Sosa (suspended), Ozzie Alonso (recovery from torn ACL), Machop Chol (hamstring) and Tyler Wolff (shoulder).
Toronto
Out: Themi Antonoglou (lower body).
Questionable: Lorenzo Insigne (lower body) and Victor Vazquez (upper body).
What was said
“I think the positives are many. I think, at times, we take for granted dominating possession (against) opponents. I think at times, it feels like, ‘oh, yeah’, it’s natural, like, we have more possession than the opponent. And I think that’s not easy.” – Pineda
“I think we all know what they can do with the ball. They’ve got a great midfield. But I think so far we’ve focused on how we can break them down and things like this.” – Miles Robinson
Officiating crew
Referee: Nima Saghafi
Assistants: Kevin Klinger, Meghan Mullen
Fourth Official: Sergii Demianchuk
VAR: Michael Radchuk
AVAR: Tom Supple
Atlanta United’s predicted 11
Goalkeeper Brad Guzan
Centerback Miles Robinson
Centerback Luis Abram
Right fullback Brooks Lennon
Left fullback Andrew Gutman
Defensive midfielder Franco Ibarra
Midfielder Matheus Rossetto
Attacking midfielder Thiago Almada
Right wing Luiz Araujo
Left wing Caleb Wiley
Striker Miguel Berry
For more content about Atlanta United
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Atlanta United’s 2023 MLS schedule
Feb. 25 Atlanta United 2, San Jose Earthquakes 1
March 4 vs. Toronto FC, 7:30 p.m.
March 11 at Charlotte FC, noon, Fox
March 18 vs. Portland Timbers, 7:30 p.m.
March 25 at Columbus Crew, 7:30 p.m.
April 1 vs. New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
April 8 at New York City FC, 7:30 p.m.
April 15 at Toronto FC, 7:30 p.m.
April 23 vs. Chicago Fire FC, 4:30 p.m., FS1
April 29 at Nashville SC, 1:30 p.m., Fox
May 6 at Inter Miami CF, 7:30 p.m.
May 13 vs. Charlotte FC, 7:30 p.m.
May 17 vs. Colorado Rapids, 7:30 p.m.
May 20 at Chicago Fire FC, 8:30 p.m.
May 27 at Orlando City SC, 7:30 p.m.
May 31 vs. New England Revolution, 7:30 p.m., FS1
June 3 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
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