Alright, Atlanta! Tonight is a special one under the lights at the Benz! Our legendary goalkeeper, Brad Guzan, is set to make his 250th career appearance for the Five Stripes! He’s the ONLY player in club history to reach this incredible milestone! Let’s give him a massive ovation tonight! He starts in goal as we host our rivals, Orlando City SC, at 7:30 p.m. ET!
Fresh off that huge 4-2 win against Cincinnati, Coach Deila seems to have found the winning formula and is rolling with a nearly identical starting XI tonight, with just one change. Ronald Hernández will step in for Pedro Amador, just like he did in the second half on Sunday.
Latte Lath and Miguel Almirón will be leading the line, hungry to get back on the scoresheet after a couple of games without a goal, although they’ve been creating plenty of chances!
Even with another match coming up on Saturday against the Red Bulls, Deila is backing the lineup that delivered on Sunday. However, we might see some earlier subs tonight to manage fitness.
Orlando City comes to the Benz on a 12-game unbeaten run in MLS and already has a win against us this season, so this will be a tough test! But this Atlanta United squad is looking much different than the one they faced back in April! That midfield trio of Fortune, Slisz, and Miranchuk controlled the game against Cincy, and they’ll be key again tonight!
Here’s your Atlanta United Starting XI to take on Orlando City SC:
Brad Guzan (C), Saba Lobjanidze, Matt Edwards, Derrick Williams, Luis Abram, Ronald Hernández, Jay Fortune, Alexey Miranchuk, Bartosz Slisz, Miguel Almirón, Emmanuel Latte Lath
Reserves: Jayden Hibbert, Noah Cobb, Efraín Morales, Pedro Amador, Mateusz Klich, Will Reilly, Edwin Mosquera, Luke Brennan, Jamal Thiaré
Key Notes for Tonight’s Battle:
- A HUGE congratulations to our captain, Brad Guzan, on his club-record 250th appearance! He’s also second in MLS with 59 saves this season and has a remarkable eight clean sheets against Orlando in his career!
- Alexey Miranchuk is coming off his 400th career club appearance and was the first Atlanta player with two assists in a game this season on Sunday!
- Saba Lobjanidze starts again and leads the team with five assists!
- Luis Abram makes his 50th career start for the Five Stripes and has played every minute of the last six matches!
- Our all-time record against Orlando is solid at 10-6-7, and we’ve outscored them 17-10 at home!
- We’re strong in the air, ranking fourth in MLS in aerial duel win percentage!
- Still out injured are Gregersen, Muyumba, and Cohen. Brooks Lennon isn’t listed in the reserves tonight.
Alright, Atlanta! Let’s pack the Benz, celebrate Brad Guzan’s incredible milestone, and cheer our team to another big win tonight against Orlando!
IT’S GAMEDAY! VAMOS ATLANTA!
