ATLANTA — Atlanta United returns to action Saturday when it plays hosts to Los Angeles Galaxy at 5 p.m.at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Atlanta enters the match in second place in the Eastern Conference standings, trailing Philadelphia Union by three points with a game in hand, while the Galaxy sit in third place in the Western Conference. This will be the third meeting all-time between the clubs and the second at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where Atlanta is 8-1-3 in 2019 and riding a nine-game unbeaten streak. Atlanta is 2-0-0 against LA, winning 4-0 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017 and 2-0 in Carson, CA last season.
Atlanta is coming off a 4-3 loss to LAFC July 27 at Banc of California Stadium. Mo Adams scored his first goal with Atlanta United in his first start for the club and Josef Martinez scored for the eighth consecutive MLS match, one match shy of the record he set last season and shares with Portland’s Diego Valeri. The Venezuelan striker is second in the Golden Boot race with 17 goals this season and with 67 career league goals he is one away from tying Bradley Wright-Phillips for the most goals scored in any three-year span in league history (68 from 2014-16). Julian Gressel became the first Atlanta player to reach 30 career assists against LAFC and has now recorded at least one assist in three straight games.
Los Angeles travels to Atlanta for its second consecutive away match after falling 4-0 to Portland Timbers at Providence Park July 27. Zlatan Ibrahimovic leads the Galaxy with 16 goals, however the striker will be suspended for this match along with Efrain Alvarez and Diego Polenta. Los Angeles is 4-5-1 on the road this season.
