Atlanta United is back from the international break with the first of two consecutive home matches this weekend when rivals Nashville SC come to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The 5-Stripes are coming off an important road win at Charlotte FC last time out and are looking to build some momentum as we enter the final weeks of the regular season. Atlanta sits in 10th in the Eastern Conference standings, trailing the eighth seed by only two points. Nashville sits in 15th in the East and is looking to break an eight-match losing streak. Nashville is five points behind Atlanta in the standings with seven matches left to play in the season. Let’s take a look at the Tools to the Match presented by Home Depot against Nashville SC.
Carry over momentum from road win at Charlotte
The 5-Stripes are looking to carry over momentum through the international break after a big 1-0 road win at Charlotte last time out. It was the first start for new midfielder Alexey Miranchuk and he showed his quality on the ball in creating scoring opportunities. Atlanta had several chances to score in the first and second halves of the match. Homegrown midfielder Jay Fortune found the breakthrough with his first MLS goal to secure the three points.
Defensively, the team was solid all night and put on a performance that it can build on. The new-look backline with Brooks Lennon, Stian Gregersen, Derrick Williams and Pedro Amador didn’t allow many clear-cut scoring chances for Charlotte. Goalkeeper Brad Guzan made six saves on the night, but Charlotte barely reached 1.0 xG on those six shots, indicating that the chances given up were not high-quality chances for the most part. If Atlanta can produce a similar type of effort defensively and continue to create scoring chances in attack, it has a good chance to secure three more points on Saturday.
Don’t give Hany Mukhtar opportunities in transition
Whenever you face Nashville over the last several years, all eyes need to be on attacking midfielder Hany Mukhtar first and foremost. The former MVP and Golden Boot winner has been tremendous for Nashville over the years and is looking to reach 10+ goals and 10+ assists for the fourth consecutive season. He has five goals and seven assists in 2024. In this series, Mukhtar has excelled with six goals and six assists in 10 career MLS appearances against Atlanta United.
One of the ways Mukhtar and Nashville have hurt Atlanta in the past is through quick transition play. Jacob Shaffelburg and Tyler Boyd bring great speed down the flanks for Nashville and the team has finally found a formidable strike partner for Mukhtar this year in Sam Surridge. The England native leads the team with eight goals scored. Atlanta’s defense needs to be aware of those transition moments and not allow too many gaps for Mukhtar and company to take advantage of.
Convert chances early to gain control of the match
One of the themes of Atlanta’s season so far has been creating plenty of quality scoring opportunities but needing to finish more of them. The team’s xG numbers have been pretty high regardless of which statistics provider you use. Unfortunately, the team is sitting on 36 goals through 27 matches (1.33 goals per match). Last season, Atlanta finished the regular season at 1.94 goals per match.
One of the keys to success on Saturday and moving forward the rest of the season is to convert chances early in the match for the 5-Stripes. When Atlanta scores the first goal, they own a 7-3-2 (W-L-T) record this year. When the team leads at halftime, they are 5-0-1 this season. Scoring early, especially at home, will open up the opponents' defense and allow Atlanta’s new-look front four more space to create even more scoring chances. And when they get into those spots, the forwards need to deliver.
Fans can tune in on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV on Saturday night at 7:30 pm ET when the action kicks off at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. To hear the action on radio, tune into Sports Radio 92.9 The Game (English) or La Mejor – AM 1600 (Spanish).
