ATLANTA – Atlanta United travels to Gillette Stadium on Saturday to take on New England Revolution needing a win to stay alive in the playoff race.
The match is set to kick-off at 1:30 p.m.
Atlanta, which is three points behind Columbus Crew for the final spot in the playoffs, holds a 5-2-3 all-time record against New England in MLS regular season and playoff games but is just 1-3-1 on the road.
This is the second meeting between the two teams this season, as goals from Thiago Almada and Luiz Araújo secured a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on May 15.
Atlanta played Philadelphia Union in its last match, drawing the Eastern Conference leader 0-0 before the international break. Gonzalo Pineda’s side held Philadelphia to 0.16 expected goals (xG), the Union’s lowest mark of the season.
With the club’s defense blanking Philadelphia and Orlando, Atlanta posted clean sheets in back-to-back matches for the first time this season. Atlanta allowed only three shots on target over those 180 minutes, all of which belonged to Orlando. The match against Philadelphia marked the seventh time in club history that Atlanta held its opponent without a shot on goal.
Four players saw action over the FIFA international window. Almada drew the praise of Lionel Messi as he earned his first senior cap with Argentina. Ronald Hernández and Josef Martínez both featured for Venezuela, the latter of which scored against the United Arab Emirates. Caleb Wiley was called up to the United States U-20 team for the Revelations Cup in Mexico City, Mexico, helping head coach Mikey Varas and the team to a third-place finish.
New England is winless in its last three matches, suffering losses to CF Montréal, Houston Dynamo FC and New York Red Bulls. Gustavo Bou, Carles Gil and Adam Buksa are all tied for the New England scoring lead on seven goals. However, Buksa, who recorded a brace against Atlanta in the teams’ last meeting, moved to RC Lens in Ligue 1 on July 10.
