In search of a fifth consecutive home victory, Atlanta United welcome New York City FC to the Mercedes-Benz stadium on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the away side will be aiming to put an end to a five-game winless run with their last triumph coming over a month ago.
Match preview
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Atlanta United picked up their first away win since August by beating Toronto FC 2-0 at the BMO Field on Sunday.
Goals in either half from forwards Luiz Araujo and Marcelino Moreno secured all three points for Gonzalo Pineda's men.
The Five Stripes have moved up to fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings and currently possess a two-point cushion on teams outside the playoff places.
Awaiting them next is an opportunity to avoid a third straight defeat against an opposing side who would move ahead on the log should they manage to claim all three points.
With the regular season now in its final knockings, Thursday's hosts have little margin for error in their quest to book a spot in the postseason this term after missing out last season.
New York City FC were left empty-handed in the Hudson River Derby versus New York Red Bulls on Sunday, which ended 1-0 at the Red Bull Arena.
Christian Casseres opened the scoring in the third minute and that was enough to condemn Ronny Deila's men to an 11th league loss of the campaign.
Despite amassing only two points from their last five outings, the Pigeons sit just one point outside the last playoff place ahead of the regular season's final stretch.
Having picked up just 13 of their 40 points on the road, Thursday's visitors will need to improve their fortunes away from home to avoid being left behind by fellow playoff hopefuls.
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Team News
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Atlanta's Ezequiel Barco was given his marching orders last time out, and the Argentine midfielder is suspended for this one.
The home side will also be without the services of 25-year-old Emerson Hyndman who is yet to feature this term due to a knee injury.
Ismael Tajouri grabbed the winning goal for the away side in the last meeting between Thursday's opponents and will be looking to deliver the goods once more.
Deila has now seen his side fail to score in four straight games, and we expect him to make some alterations to his attack with the likes of Santiago Rodriguez dropping to the bench from the last XI.
Atlanta United possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Walkes, Franco, Robinson; Bello, Sosa, Rossetto, Lennon, Ibarra; Moreno, Martinez
New York City FC possible starting lineup:
Johnson; Callens, Sands, Chanot; Thorarinsson, Moralez, Parks, Medina, Gray; Castellanos, Heber
We say: Atlanta United 1-1 New York City FC
Both teams have a lot to lose coming into this one, so we expect a cautious approach with neither side being too adventurous. We are also backing a share of the spoils with the sides settling for a point apiece in the end.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Atlanta United win with a probability of 44.13%. A win for New York City FC had a probability of 30.09% and a draw had a probability of 25.8%.
The most likely scoreline for an Atlanta United win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.46%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.03%) and 2-0 (7.71%). The likeliest New York City FC win was 0-1 (8.32%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.25%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.3% likelihood.
