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Atlanta United
Major League Soccer
May 18, 2023 at 12.30am UK
Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Colorado Rapids

Atlanta
4 - 0
Colorado

Almada (29'), Araujo (80'), Wolff (87'), Giakoumakis (90')
Almada (30')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Priso-Mbongue (23'), Nicholson (53')

Preview: Atlanta United vs. Colorado Rapids - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Major League Soccer clash between Atlanta United and Colorado Rapids, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Atlanta United will be aiming to bounce back from four successive defeats when they host Colorado Rapids in MLS on Wednesday.

The visitors, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 at home by Philadelphia Union in a fiery encounter at the weekend.


Match preview

Atlanta United head coach Gonzalo Pineda looks on on April 9, 2023© Reuters

After collecting a highly respectable tally of 18 points from their opening nine league games of the current campaign - losing only one match during that period - Atlanta have since been defeated in three consecutive MLS games.

Nashville SC, Inter Miami and Charlotte FC have all got the better of Gonzalo Pineda's side, with Memphis 901 FC also stunning them in extra time of their US Open Cup fixture towards the end of April.

Trailing 1-0 at home to Charlotte at half-time over the weekend, Andrew Gutman's 51st-minute dismissal gave the hosts little chance of mounting a comeback, with goals from Karol Swiderski and Justin Meram taking the game away from them before the hour mark.

Having missed out on the playoffs in his first season in charge last time out, Pineda will be desperate to bounce back and reach the business end of the MLS season this time around, with his players needing to return to winning ways sooner rather than later to avoid a losing rot setting in at the club.

Colorado Rapids head coach Robin Fraser reacts on April 15, 2023© Reuters

Colorado, meanwhile, head into their clash against Atlanta sitting just outside the playoff positions in the Western Conference table, having missed out on the chance to move back inside them by losing at home to Philadelphia last time out.

Goals from Kai Wagner and Julian Carranza either side of half time turned the match on its head after Connor Ronan had dispatched a penalty in the 38th minute, before Braian Galvan and Jesus Bueno were both sent off during second half injury-time in a match which featured 11 cards in total.

The defeat brought an end to Colorado's impressive nine-match unbeaten run in all competitions, although five of their seven league games during that run had ended in draws, minimising Robin Fraser's side's upwards movement in the table.

However, they will sense an excellent opportunity to inflict more misery on their forthcoming opponents on Wednesday, and claim the positive result that could bring them back into the top seven.

Atlanta United Major League Soccer form:

Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer form:


Team News

Atlanta United Head coach Gonzalo Pineda looks on before the game between the Atlanta United and the Toronto FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on March 4, 2023© Reuters

Atlanta will be without Gutman due to suspension after his dismissal against Charlotte, with Caleb Wiley likely to drop into a deeper position at left-back.

Erik Lopez, Brad Guzan and Osvaldo Alonso are all expected to remain sidelined through serious injuries, but Georgios Giakoumakis could be set for a start after only being deployed from the bench at the weekend.

Colorado, meanwhile, will travel without the banned Galvan, who was sent off despite only appearing as a second-half substitute during his side's loss to Philadelphia.

Abraham Rodriguez, Jack Price, Jackson Travis and Aboubacar Keita all remain sidelined through injury, so Fraser may be tempted to opt with the same starting XI despite seeing his side's nine-match unbeaten run come to an end.


Atlanta United possible starting lineup:
Westberg; Lennon, Robinson, Sanchez, Wiley; Sejdic, Ibarra; Araujo, Almada, Giakoumakis; Berry

Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Abubakar, Maxso, Wilson; Nicholson, Ronan, Leyva, Markanich; Rubio; Cabral, Lewis


SM words green background

We say: Atlanta United 2-2 Colorado Rapids

Both teams will be desperate to bounce back after suffering defeat at the weekend, and we can envisage a hard-fought, entertaining affair as a result.

In truth, there is little to split these sides based on individual quality, with the visitors' superior form likely to help towards a decent point on the road.

How to watch

You can watch Atlanta United vs. Colorado Rapids and every MLS match this season live on Apple TV. Click here for more details on how to subscribe.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:curl


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Game History

How you voted: Atlanta vs Colorado

Atlanta United
50.0%
Draw
38.9%
Colorado Rapids
11.1%
18
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6New York City FCNY City104241110114
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8DC United103431415-113
9Atlanta UnitedAtlanta9333139412
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11Charlotte FCCharlotte FC103251013-311
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15New England RevolutionNew England9117618-124

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2Los Angeles GalaxyLA Galaxy105322117418
3Vancouver WhitecapsVancouver95221810817
4Minnesota UnitedMinnesota Utd95221510517
5Los Angeles FCLos Angeles104331816215
6Colorado RapidsColorado104331615115
7Austin FCAustin104331413115
8Houston DynamoHouston9414910-113
9St Louis City92611514112
10Sporting Kansas CityKansas102531818011
11Portland TimbersPortland102442021-110
12Dallas9225912-38
13Seattle SoundersSeattle91351011-16
14San Jose EarthquakesEarthquakes101181425-114


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