Atlanta United (3-2-2) will host Cincinnati (3-2-3) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The game will be televised by AppleTV. You can follow Doug Roberson’s coverage on X (formerly known as Twitter) @DougRobersonAJC.
Cincinnati manager: Pat Noonan
Atlanta United home record: 3-0-1
Cincinnati away record: 2-1-1
Cincinnati goals for/against: 8/7
Cincinnati expected goals for/against: 9.3/8.4
Atlanta United goals for/against: 12/7
Atlanta United expected goals for/against: 10.8/9.6
Atlanta United all-time vs Cincinnati: 5-2-4, 3-1-2 home
Cincinnati key players
Luciano Acosta: Two goals, four assists
Aaron Boupendza: Two goals, one assist
Yaya Kubo: Three goals
Atlanta United key players
Giorgos Giakoumakis: Five goals
Saba Lobjanidze: One goal, three assists
Brooks Lennon: Four assists
Injury reports (as of April 18)
Atlanta United
Out: Stian Gregersen (knee), Jamal Thiare (hamstring) and Derrick Williams (calf).
Questionable: Giakoumakis (knee) and Xande Silva (adductor).
Cincinnati
Out: Roman Celentano (ankle).
Storylines to watch
1. Stopping Acosta? He has scored eight goals with five assists in 15 matches against Atlanta United. That’s an unreal amount of production. Acosta leads MLS in chances created (27). He has just four assists, largely because Cincinnati’s attack hasn’t yet found its post-Brandon Vazquez form. Cincinnati has scored only eight goals, fourth-fewest in the league.
2. Defense first. Atlanta United and Cincinnati statistically rank among the better defenses in MLS. They have each given up only seven goals total, which is tied for fewest in the league, including five from open play, which is also tied for the fewest in the league.
What was said
“He’s (Acosta) tough to defend against because he’s a really good player, a smart player. He can change direction fast and is a really good player, like a few players in this league. So I think if we want to try to block him, we are going to need everyone, not just one player.” – Tristan Muyumba
“I think when you have a locker room, especially different personalities, different types of individuals, you need to be able to give them platforms to speak and feel comfortable. Not everyone’s going to feel comfortable speaking in front of a roomful of 40 people sometimes. It needs to be a little bit more intimate in smaller numbers, which is fine, and so I think in that sense, it’s been really good and allowing guys to take more ownership of the group and ownership of the team. When you do that, I think it pays off with, on the field not necessarily performances, but it allows guys to take more on their plate when they’re on the field, and that’s a good thing.” – Brad Guzan on the team’s leadership council, established by Pineda
“We’re expecting a good game at home where we’re very strong. We’re going to try and get three points like we always do, but Cincinnati is a tough team, so we’ll have to be alert, especially defensively.” – Thiago Almada
Officiating crew
REF: Armando Villarreal
AR1: Cory Richardson
AR2: Logan Brown
4TH: Sergii Demianchuk
VAR: Carol Anne Chenard
AVAR: TJ Zablocki
Atlanta United’s predicted 11
Goalkeeper Brad Guzan
Centerback Luis Abram
Centerback Noah Cobb
Right fullback Brooks Lennon
Left fullback Caleb Wiley
Defensive midfielder Bartosz Slisz
Midfielder Tristan Muyumba
Attacking midfielder Thiago Almada
Winger Saba Lobjanidze
Winger Tyler Wolff
Striker Daniel Rios
For more content about Atlanta United
Follow me on Twitter/X @DougRobersonAJC
On Facebook at Atlanta United News Now
On Instagram at DouglasDavidRoberson
Atlanta United coverage on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Southern Fried Soccer podcast can be found
Apple - https://apple.co/3ISD6Ve
Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3L8TN0C
Google podcasts - https://bit.ly/32KlZW3
If you are listening to us for the first time, please follow us on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcast ... and if you like what you hear, please give us a good rating so we can grow the show. If you have questions about the MLS team, you can email Doug Roberson at droberson@ajc.com, DM him on Twitter @dougrobersonajc or call 404-526-2527.
Stay up to date every day on breaking news, in-depth investigations, politics, sports, entertainment, food and dining and so much more by becoming a subscriber to the AJC. Go to AJC.com/start for a very special offer and unlock hundreds of original articles published daily on the refreshed AJC.com and the new AJC mobile app. Plus, access to our news alerts, subscriber-only events, AJC original shows, films and videos, newsletters, and so much more.
Atlanta United’s 2024 schedule
Feb. 24 Columbus 1, Atlanta United 0
March 9 Atlanta United 4, New England 1
March 17 Atlanta United 2, Orlando 0
March 23 Toronto 2, Atlanta United 0
March 31 Atlanta United 3, Chicago 0
April 6 Atlanta United 1, NYCFC 1
April 14 Atlanta United 2, Philadelphia 2
April 20 vs. Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
April 27 at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
May 4 vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.
May 11 vs. D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
May 15 at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
May 18 at Nashville, 1:30 p.m.
May 25 vs. LAFC, 7:30 p.m.
May 29 at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
June 2 vs Charlotte, 4:30 p.m., FOX
June 15 vs. Houston, 7:30 p.m.
June 19 at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
June 22 at St. Louis, 8:30 p.m.
June 29 vs. Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
July 3 at New England, 7:30 p.m.
July 6 at Real Salt Lake, 9:30 p.m.
July 13 at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
July 17 vs. NYCFC, 7:30 p.m.
July 20 vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
July 26 vs. D.C. United in Leagues Cup, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 4 vs. Santos Laguna in Leagues Cup, 4 p.m.
Aug. 24 at L.A. Galaxy, 10:30 p.m.
Aug. 31 at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 14 vs. Nashville, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 18 vs. Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 21 at Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 28 at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 2 vs. Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 5 vs. Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 19 at Orlando, 6 p.m.
