Atlanta United vs. Philadelphia Union | 2018 MLS Match Preview

Dylan Butler

Atlanta United vs. Philadelphia Union
2018 MLS Regular Season – Week 14
Mercedes-Benz Stadium — Atlanta
June 2 - 7:30 pm ET
WATCH: ESPN+, MLS LIVE on DAZN (Canada)

For the first time this season, Atlanta United have gone back-to-back games without a victory following a 1-1 draw with the New England Revolution on Wednesday at Gillette Stadium.

But the Five Stripes return to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where they are 4-1-1, to take on a Philadelphia Union side that have three wins in four games unbeaten following a 3-1 win over the Chicago Fire on Wednesday, but are just 1-4-1 away from Talen Energy Stadium.

Atlanta United

Tata Martino made three changes from his team that lost to the New York Red Bulls 10 days earlier, with Franco Escobar and Chris McCann returning from injury to start in his back three and Mikey Ambrose earning the start in place of the injured Greg Garza.

Josef Martinez moved into the MLS Golden Boot lead with his ninth goal of the season in the 23rd minute, but Atlanta (8-3-2) couldn’t find an insurance goal, which proved costly when Teal Bunbury equalized for the Revs from the penalty spot two minutes from full time.

“I want to say that in the first half, I don’t think we deserved to be up a goal,” Martino said after the match. “The way we were playing, we didn’t take advantage of that whole half. Then in the second half, I thought we played well. We created a lot of chances that our guys usually convert and I thought at that point we did deserve to win.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: M - Chris McCann, M - Jeff Larentowicz, M - Miguel Almiron
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Greg Garza (shoulder surgery)

Projected Starting XI
(3-4-1-2, right to left)
GK: Brad Guzan — Franco Escobar, Michael Parkhurst, Chris McCann — Julian Gressel, Darlington Nagbe, Jeff Larentowicz, Mikey Ambrose — Miguel Almiron — Ezequiel Barco, Josef Martinez

Notes: All six of Miguel Almirón’s goals this season have come in the second half, the most of any player. Four of the six have come in the final 15 minutes of games, also the most in the league. … Atlanta has lost back-to-back home games for the first time in franchise history. They lost three home games all of last season.

Philadelphia Union

Jim Curtin made three changes to his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation from the side that drew the Red Bulls on Saturday, with Ilsinho and David Accam returning in the midfield and Cory Burke replacing CJ Sapong as the lone striker.

After squandering their chances in Harrison, Philadelphia (5-5-3) took them at home on Wednesday, with Ilsinho giving the Union a 1-0 lead just before halftime and Burke netting his second goal in as many starts to double the lead in the 51st minute.

Five minutes later, Alan Gordon scored for the second straight game to pull the Fire to within a goal, but Borek Dockal sealed the win with a penalty kick three minutes from full time.

“Proud of the guys in terms of fight and grit and effort,” Curtin said after the game. “But in terms of the quality of soccer we played tonight I thought it was our worst performance at home.”

Suspended: None
Suspended after next caution: None
International duty: None
Injury Report: OUT: D - Richie Marquez (sports hernia surgery), D - Joshua Yaro (concussion); QUESTIONABLE: D - Mark McKenzie (knee injury)

Projected Starting XI
(4-2-3-1, right to left)
GK: Andre Blake — Keegan Rosenberry, Jack Elliott, Auston Trusty, Raymon Gaddis — Alejandro Bedoya, Haris Medunjanin — Marcus Epps, Borek Dockal, Fafa Picault — CJ Sapong

Notes: Haris Medunjanin has taken eight shots from direct free kicks this season. Only Sebastian Giovinco (12) has more. … Philadelphia have not conceded a goal in either of their last two road games (1W-1D). They had conceded an average of 2.5 goals per game over their previous six on the road (6L).

All-Time Series

Overall: Atlanta United 1 win, 5 goals … Philadelphia Union 0 wins, 2 goals … 1 tie
At Atlanta: Atlanta United 1 win, 3 goals … Union 0 wins, 0 goals … 0 ties
Last meeting at Atlanta: Atlanta United 3, Philadelphia Union 0 (Sept. 27, 2017)