Matchday five of the 2024 MLS campaign concludes with Atlanta United hosting Orlando City on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Five Stripes won their home opener last Saturday, 4-1 over the New England Revolution, while the Lions suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat at home to Minnesota United.
Match preview
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Atlanta were firing on all cylinders last Saturday, tearing apart the Revs defence, extending their regular season unbeaten run at home to four matches.
Ahead of this season, the Atlanta front office said they had an outstanding starter at every position, and it certainly looked like that last weekend as they had nine efforts on target and rarely allowed a scoring chance versus New England.
Finding the back of the net as frequently as they did in their previous encounter is something that Gonzalo Pineda saw his side often do in 2023, scoring three or more goals in seven regular season affairs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
On the other hand, this team have not been entirely tidy defensively for a while, conceding in 10 successive encounters in this competition.
In their last seven regular-season affairs in which they were even or in front at the interval, the Five Stripes have come away with at least one point or more each time.
They have not walked away with three points in a home game versus the Lions since the 2021 season, though, when they claimed a convincing 3-0 triumph.
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It was supposed to be a joyous occasion for Orlando City last Saturday, with numerous alumni on hand to celebrate their 10th anniversary.
Their home opener though did not go as they had hoped, with the Lions wasting countless scoring opportunities, building up an expected goals ratio of 3.60 but coming away with nothing.
Costly turnovers, which led to attacking transitions for Minnesota, ultimately proved to be the undoing of Oscar Pareja's side as their 12-match unbeaten run in regular-season home fixtures ended.
Orlando City conceded the joint second-fewest goals in the Eastern Conference last season (39), but keeping the ball out of their goal has been an issue for them lately, with this side allowing eight in their last two domestic affairs.
In just one MLS away match this season, the Lions have conceded as many goals as they had in their last seven domestic contests in 2023.
The Lions have points in each of their last two visits to Mercedes-Benz Stadium versus Atlanta United, coming back to win this exact fixture 2-1 a season ago.
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Team News
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Last weekend, Dax McCarty made his first regular-season appearance for Atlanta United, and Jamal Thiare saw the field for the first time in the new domestic campaign.
Edwin Mosquera also made his first appearance of the 2024 campaign, replacing Saba Lobzhanidze in the latter stages of their encounter with New England.
A hat-trick courtesy of Giorgos Giakoumakis helped power the Five Stripes to a victory in their previous encounter as he is tied for the MLS Golden Boot lead with those three strikes, while Thiago Almada netted his first of the season.
Facundo Torres will be questionable for Orlando City in this match as he is experiencing some pain in his lower extremities, while Jack Lynn may not be available either because of a lower leg injury.
Pareja inserted two newcomers into the lineup versus the Loons who did not start their encounter with Inter Miami (5-0 loss), with Felipe Martins and Ramiro Enrique replacing Torres and Wilder Cartagena.
Duncan McGuire notched the only two goals for the Lions versus Minnesota, with his first coming 13 seconds after the opening whistle, equalling Deshorn Brown for the fifth-fastest goal in MLS history.
Atlanta United possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Lennon, Gregersen, Williams, Wiley; Slisz, McCarty; Mosquera, Almada, Silva; Giakoumakis
Orlando City possible starting lineup:
Gallese; Thorhallsson, Schlegel, Jansson, Santos; Araujo, Cartagena; Ojeda, Enrique, Angulo; McGuire
We say: Atlanta United 2-1 Orlando City
The Lions are taking on a Five Stripes side brimming with confidence who had a stellar performance last week, and we wonder what the morale is like in Orlando right now, given their defensive frailties over their past two domestic encounters.
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