Major League Soccer returns with a fresh set of fixtures as Atlanta United and Philadelphia Union go head to head at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday night.
The visitors are currently on a run of six consecutive games without defeat against the Five Stripes and will be looking to move into second place in the Eastern Conference table.
Match preview
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Atlanta United continue to struggle for results away from home as they suffered a 4-0 thrashing against New York Red Bulls at the Red Bull Arena last Monday.
Despite being on the back foot for most of the game and seeing just 34% of the ball possession, goals from Daniel Edelman, Cristian Casseres Jr. and a second-half brace from Frankie Amaya helped the hosts secure a comfortable victory.
Gonzalo Pineda's men have gone nine consecutive matches without a win away from home, losing four and claiming five draws since a 3-0 victory over Charlotte FC on March 11.
However, Atlanta United now return home, where they have lost just once since the turn of the year, and are unbeaten in their last four outings, claiming two wins and two draws since May's 3-1 defeat against Charlotte.
With 29 points from 20 matches, the Five Stripes are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference standings, two points behind fifth-placed Columbus Crew, who have one game in hand.
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Philadelphia Union, on the other hand, returned to winning ways in style as they hammered Inter Miami 4-1 when the sides met at Subaru Park last Sunday.
After goals from Jakob Glesnes, Julian Carranza and Leon Flach put the hosts in a commanding first-half lead, Robert Taylor pulled one back for the Herons in the 50th minute, but a 68th-minute own goal from David Ruiz restored the three-goal deficit.
Prior to that, Jim Curtin's men saw their six-match unbeaten run come to an end on June 11 courtesy of a 2-1 loss away to San Jose Earthquakes, 11 days before holding out for a 2-2 draw at Orlando City.
Following last weekend's victory, Philadelphia Union have now picked up four home wins on the trot and are unbeaten in nine straight games, picking up six wins and three draws since March's 2-1 loss against Orlando City.
Next up for the Union is an opposing side who are winless in each of their last six encounters across all competitions, losing three and claiming three draws since a 4-0 victory in January 2020.
Philadelphia Union have now won 10 of their 19 matches so far while picking up four draws and losing five to collect 34 points and sit fourth in the Eastern Conference table, nine points behind first-placed Cincinnati.
Team News
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Atlanta United will still have to cope without the services of 24-year-old midfielder Santiago Sosa, who has missed the last four matches through an ankle injury.
He is joined on the Five Stripes' injury table by Paraguayan forward Erik Lopez, who has been sidelined since picking up an injury in March's game against Columbus Crew.
Experienced centre-back Luis Abram is a doubt for Pineda's side after coming off injured midway through last weekend's defeat against New York Red Bulls.
As for Philadelphia Union, American midfielder Andres Perea is also a major doubt for Sunday's game, having missed their last two outings due to illness.
Other than that, Curtin has the luxury of a full-strength squad at his disposal and we expect the 44-year-old to name a similar side from last Sunday's dominant victory over Inter Miami.
With his strike in the aforementioned game, Carranza now has nine goal involvements in his last 10 matches and the Argentine forward will be one to keep an eye on.
Atlanta United possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Lennon, Abram, Purata, Gutman; Rossetto, Ibarra; Wolff, Almada, Wiley; Giakoumakis
Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Bendik; Mbaizo, Glesnes, Elliott, Wagner; Martinez, Bedoya, Flach; Gazdag, Carranza, Uhre
We say: Atlanta United 2-2 Philadelphia Union
Atlanta United will be looking to restore some pride this weekend following their humbling defeat against the Red Bulls. However, they face a Philadelphia Union side who have enjoyed the better of this fixture over the last two years. While home advantage makes the Pineda's men slight favourites, we predict that the visitors will do just enough to force a share of the spoils.
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Top tip
Joshua Ojele
