First Touches
- Atlanta United will wear the 17s' Kit.
- It's an earlier start time with kickoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
- Giorgos Giakoumakis will be unavailable for Atlanta United. View this week's Availability Report presented by Piedmont.
- Atlanta is the only team in MLS to score at least one goal in every game this season. The team leads MLS with five goals scored in the first 15 minutes of matches this season.
Match Details
- Date: Saturday, April 29
- Kickoff time: 1:30 p.m.
- Location: GEODIS Park
- Tickets: View tickets
How to watch, listen and live stream Nashville SC vs. Atlanta United
- TV: Watch on FOX or for FREE on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
- Listen: Local radio 92.9 The Game and La Mejor
- Live stream: Watch on your phone or device by subscribing to MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app or visit https://tv.apple.com/.
- Watch party: We're hosting a watch party at the Inman Park Festival! Play games with fellow 17s and receive promo giveaways and retail items as we cheer on the team with a large screen projecting the match. Look for us on the corner of Waverly Way NE and Edgewood Ave in Inman Park.
Recent Form
Saturday's match concludes a triple matchweek for Atlanta United and the results so far have been mixed. Last weekend, a late own goal from Chicago Fire saved points for the 5-Stripes at home. Then on Wednesday, Atlanta United was eliminated from the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 2-1 loss in extra time to USL side Memphis 901 FC. On the other end, Nashville SC beat San Antonio 1-0 to advance to the Round of 32 in Open Cup play. In MLS Nashville is winless in its last three matches. Their last win came against Orlando City SC at Exploria Stadium on April 1.
Series History and Last Meeting
Atlanta holds a 2-2-3 all-time record against Nashville in MLS regular season play. Last time Atlanta United and Nashville SC met was in 2022 and Nashville SC was in the Western Conference. The sides tied 2-2 in MLS competition following an extended rain delay at GEODIS Park and an 88th minute equalizer from Dom Dwyer. The meeting before that, which occurred 10 days prior, Nashville SC knocked out Atlanta United from Open Cup competition 3-2 in extra time.
Players To Watch
Brooks Lennon (Atlanta United) – The fullback is coming off a strong performance in the 2-1 win over Chicago Fire which earned him a spot on the bench for the league's Team of the Matchday. Lennon contributed to both Atlanta United goals, assisting Giorgos Giakoumakis's opener then taking the corner kick that led to the game-winner. Lennon, who signed a contract extension this offseason, sits on 99 all-time appearances for the club and could become the ninth player in club history to hit that century mark on Saturday.
Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC) – The 2022 MLS MVP and MLS Golden Boot winner certainly draws a lot of attention, especially from Atlanta United. He's scored five goals against the 5-Stripes in league play, second-most behind only FC Cincinnati's Luciano Acosta. Since the start of the 2021 season, Mukhtar has been involved in 42 goals in home MLS matches, eight more than any other player in the league. Most recently, he scored the lone goal for Nashville SC in the 1-1 draw to reigning MLS Cup champions LAFC last weekend.
Head coach Gonzalo Pineda on Nashville SC:
"They have good players, they have a good system. Whatever they play, we know it's going to be a competitive team that knows how to manage moments of the game. When to go a little bit more pragmatic, when to go for transition, when to be more expansive in their buildup with fullbacks high on the field, put a lot of pressure on long balls, second balls. So, they're a tough opponent. We trained a couple scenarios. For me, it's more our response has to be strong. We have to be mentally strong for this game. They're going to be moments where we have to do much better on the ball, dictate the tempo on the ball, control the tempo of the game with the ball. There are going to be moments where we're going to have to absorb pressure because of the numbers they put inside the box with a lot of long passes, second balls and then the creativity of [Hany] Mukhtar in that areas in little transition moments, and we have to handle those in a good way. So, I think it's a game that is going to require a lot of maturity, understand the moments of the games and how to do well in any scenario."
