Leagues Cup Scenarios: How Atlanta United plays knockout game at Bobby Dodd Stadium

Updated: Friday, August 2

Leagues Cup has already kicked-off, and Atlanta United is set to begin its quest for another trophy.

Atlanta United was drawn into group East 7 along with D.C. United (MLS) and Santos Laguna (Liga MX) and will play both clubs in the group stage. It all began for Atlanta United on Friday, July 26 when the team lost in penalty kicks vs. D.C. United after a 3-3 draw, earning one point.

The second match for Atlanta United will be Sunday, Aug. 4 vs. Santos Laguna, and will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That will be the last match of the group, as D.C. already beat Santos 3-0 on Wednesday night.

To advance, Atlanta United needs to place second in the group since D.C. has already secured the top spot. With the draw against D.C. United on Friday and D.C. United's win vs Santos, Atlanta United must win in order to advance. Here's what's at stake on Sunday vs Santos Laguna.

If Atlanta United makes it out of the group stage, there's a chance the club will host in the Round of 32. That match would be Thursday, August 8. In this scenario, Atlanta United will not play at their home venue Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Instead, the match would be played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, on the campus of Georgia Tech where the club began play during its inaugural season in MLS in 2017.

(This is the only round of Leagues Cup where Atlanta United could potentially host at Bobby Dodd Stadium. If Atlanta advances further, scenarios exist for Atlanta United to host and it would be at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.)

Here are the various scenarios that could play out for Atlanta United to host in the knockout stage of Leagues Cup:

If Atlanta United beats Santos Laguna and places second in the group:

In this scenario, Atlanta United will face the winner of group East 1 which could be FC Cincinnati (MLS) or New York City (MLS). Querétaro (Liga MX) has already been eliminated from the Leagues Cup after losing both of their matches in the group. FC Cincinnati and NYCFC will face each other on Monday, August 5 to determine the winner of the group, and we know which of them, if they were to win their group, Atlanta United would host:

• If New York City FC wins the group and Atlanta United places second, Atlanta United would host NYCFC at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
• If FC Cincinnati wins their group and Atlanta United places second, Atlanta United would travel to Ohio.

If Atlanta United is second in the group, the team will find out their opponent and venue following the FC Cincinnati vs New York City FC match, which will be played Monday, August 1.

So if you want Atlanta United to play a Leagues Cup match at Bobby Dodd Stadium, there's only one scenario you want to see:

Scenario 1

Atlanta United places second in group East 7

AND

New York City FC wins group East 1