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

Colorado Rapids will be aiming to bounce back from a heavy opening day defeat when they face Atlanta United in the MLS on Saturday.

The visitors, on the other hand, will be looking to start their campaign with consecutive victories after an impressive performance in their opening fixture.

Match preview

Auston Trusty in action for the Colorado Rapids in November 2021 © Reuters

Colorado will want to quickly forget last weekend's performance, as they fell to a disappointing 3-0 defeat away to Los Angeles FC.

A Carlos Vela hat-trick ensured that Colorado would begin the season on a sour note, and they will be hoping to avoid back-to-back defeats on Saturday.

After finishing top of the Western Conference last season, Robin Fraser's side will want to get their first win of the season swiftly under their belt.

The Rapids will also be hoping to transfer last season's home form into the current campaign, as they fell to just one home defeat in the regular season last term.

Their main strength was a defence that conceded just 14 home goals in the regular season, and they will be looking to rediscover that defensive solidity after a poor performance last weekend.

Atlanta United head coach Gonzalo Pineda watches his team play on February 27, 2022 © Reuters

Meanwhile, the 2018 MLS Cup champions got their season up and running in style as they swept past Sporting Kansas City last weekend.

Luiz Araujo opened the scoring for the Five Stripes before Dom Dwyer struck to double the advantage before the break.

Despite the comfortable scoreline, the fans inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium were treated to an exciting finale as Daniel Salloi pulled a goal back with five minutes remaining before Caleb Willey netted to wrap up the 3-1 victory.

Atlanta boasted the fourth-best away record in the Eastern Conference last term, and they will be hoping to start the current campaign with back-to-back victories.

The Five Stripes have not faced Colorado since 2019, with the three previous contests resulting in two Atlanta victories and a draw, which will inspire the visitors ahead of Saturday's encounter.

Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer form:

Colorado Rapids form (all competitions):

Atlanta United Major League Soccer form:

Team News

Colorado Rapids head coach Robin Fraser looks on in the first half against the Los Angeles Galaxy at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on September 11, 2021 © Reuters

Despite signing a contract extension in midweek, Braian Galvan will miss Saturday's contest due to an ACL injury.

Colorado will line up with a back three made up of Lala Abubakar, Danny Wilson and Auston Trusty.

Fraser could make a change in the frontline, with Michael Barrios expected to come into the side.

Meanwhile, the visitors are set to be without the services of Araujo, who picked up an injury in the victory over Sporting Kansas City.

With Araujo expected to miss out, Gonzalo Pineda could bring Brooks Lennon into the starting lineup.

Alan Franco was suspended for the season opener, but he will be available for Saturday's contest.

Colorado Rapids possible starting lineup:
Yarbrough; Wilson, Abubakar, Trusty; Rosenberry, Acosta, Price, Esteves; Kaye, Barrios, Lewis

Atlanta United possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Hernandez, Franco, Robinson, Gutman; Rossetto, Alonso, Moreno; Lennon, Wolff, Martinez

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We say: Colorado Rapids 1-1 Atlanta United

Colorado will be looking to get off to a positive start on home turf, but we think that they may have to settle for a point when they face an Atlanta side who have usually fared well against the Rapids.

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.

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 Colorado Rapids win with a probability of 44.14%. A win for Atlanta United had a probability of 29.82% and a draw had a probability of 26%.

The most likely scoreline for a Colorado Rapids win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.81%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.99%) and 2-0 (7.85%). The likeliest Atlanta United win was 0-1 (8.53%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.38%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 3.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Colorado Rapids would win this match.