Atlanta United seeks three points against Nashville SC this Saturday after losing to Inter Miami CF earlier in the week. Watch the 5-Stripes battle 2020 expansion side Nashville at 8:30pm ET on Fox Sports Southeast.
Ahead of Saturday’s matchup, we broke down the Tools to the Match, presented by The Home Depot:
Revamped Defense
Franco Escobar is available for selection this weekend after serving a suspension for his fifth yellow card of the season. Escobar’s return gives options to Atlanta to potentially revamp a defense that gave up two goals against Inter Miami. The team struggled to defend in transition in the first half but was able to adjust and kept Miami off the board in the second half.
“I thought we gave up two cheap goals in the first half. Both goals came off of our mistakes going forward,” Atlanta United defender Brooks Lennon explained in his post-match interview. “I think one was a set piece that got cleared out and I don’t think we were positioned in the right areas and they were able to counter on us and score a goal that we shouldn’t give away.”
Lock Down the Attack
In the first matchup between Atlanta United and Nashville SC, Walker Zimmerman was able to convert on a set piece and score the first goal in Nashville’s MLS history. Keeping him covered on set pieces will go a long way in limiting Nashville’s attack, as the team has only scored five goals all season. Each of the goals has been scored by a different player, so Atlanta’s defense will need to remain focused from kickoff to get a shutout.
Keeping the entire attack locked down and limiting set piece opportunities will be critical for a 5-Stripes victory.
Open Up the Space
Spreading Nashville’s compact defense, which has allowed only nine goals this season, will be one of the keys for Atlanta’s offense. Using Atlanta’s depth on offense to its advantage and spacing out the attack should help the 5-Stripes convert chances up top. In Atlanta’s last two matches, both of their goals have come from newcomers on the scoresheet. In Saturday’s match against Orlando, Adam Jahn headed in a beautiful cross from Jake Mulraney for his first goal with the club. Wednesday, Eric Remedi scored his first MLS regular season goal, his third goal for the club, after his own initial shot was blocked.
The key against Nashville will be to capitalize on the spaces when they come and convert them into goals for the 5-Stripes.
Watch Atlanta United try to get their third win against Nashville SC this season on Saturday at 8:30pm ET on Fox Sports Southeast.
