Atlético United will look to move closer to securing their spot in the Final Series when they host Miami International in a Major League Soccer match on Saturday night. The hosts are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference standings with six games remaining in the regular season, while the visitors are in 14th place but have two more games in hand than the higher-ranked team.
Atlanta United may have felt it was a missed opportunity in their last game when they drew 2-2 on the road against FC Dallas, despite taking the lead with about an hour to go. Georgios Giakoumakis and Saba Lobjanidze were their team's goal scorers in that game, but Bernard Kamungo's 62nd-minute goal denied them the win, and they now sit on 42 points, 15 behind leaders Cincinnati.
The hosts have won 11, drawn 9 and lost 8 of their matches this season, but they have the worst defensive record in the Eastern Conference, having conceded 43 goals so far. Despite this, the Five Stripes are relatively happy with their performance so far this season as they have improved five places from the end of last season and have already surpassed the 40-point record they had throughout the previous season.
Although they lost their final home game to the league leaders, Atlanta's main advantage was their performance at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where they scored 27 of their 42 points and now have the seventh-best home record in both leagues. Meanwhile, even without their iconic player Lionel Messi, who traveled with the Miami International team in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, they continued their remarkable turnaround.
Miami International beat Kansas City Athletic 3-2 in their last game, with two goals from Leonardo Campana and one from Facundo Farias keeping them in the hunt for the final series playoffs. As it stands now, Miami International has 28 points after 26 games, six points behind DC United, who are currently in ninth place, despite Wayne Rooney's team having played two more games than Martino's. With that win against Sporting, the visitors have now extended their recent unbeaten run to 12 matches in all competitions, which includes winning the League Cup for the first time in their history. Miami International are undoubtedly the team that no one wants to face at the moment, and although they are seen as slight underdogs in this game, it would take a lot of guts to say that they could pull off another stunning win in their late season push.
The hosts will be without three players for this match, with Machop Chol and Osvaldo Alonso both expected to miss the game due to injuries, while Jamal Thiare has been granted leave of absence for personal reasons.
Giakoumakis scored his 13th goal of the season in the last game, which puts him second in the top scorers list, and he should lead the attacking line with Lobzhanidze in support. As for the visitors, all eyes will be on Lionel Messi to see if he will start this game on the bench with a micro-injury after sitting through Argentina's second game.
SCORE PREDICTION: Atlanta United 2-3 Miami International With both of these teams finding goals with relative ease of late, as well as conceding a few at the other end of the game, this game could be a goal-fest. However, thanks to some excellent performances in recent months, we feel that the visitors will be able to outscore their opponents in terms of goals.
