Match Tools: How Atlanta United Wins Battle for 100th Place Against LAFC

Atlanta United welcomes Los Angeles FC to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for a cross-conference showdown on Saturday night. Both teams are sitting on 99 MLS regular season wins heading into the matchup, which makes this competition a little more meaningful. Both teams are coming off midweek victories at the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Atlanta beat the USL Championship’s top team, Charleston Battery, on penalties, while LAFC advanced with a convincing home win over Loudoun. Atlanta will look to carry some of that momentum into this weekend’s contest to get back on track in the regular season. LAFC has just one road win this season and sits in fifth place in the Western Conference heading into Saturday’s clash. Let’s take a look at the tools of the match presented by Home Depot against LAFC.

One of Atlanta’s strengths all season has been wing play. Whether it’s the wingers finding themselves in dangerous positions or the wingers, Brooks Lennon and Caleb Wiley most of the time, overlapping to create 2-on-1 situations on the flank, Atlanta puts crosses in the surface at a high level. They lead MLS in total successful crosses with 75, while also connecting on the most crosses from the baseline with 15 heading into Saturday’s game.

One of the keys to success this weekend will be to have more numbers in the box. At times, defenses struggled to mark an attacker in the box and wasted Atlanta’s scoring opportunities from the wing. Atlanta needs to get more numbers in the box and provide different crossing options to people on the wing. If he can do it this weekend, those crosses will have a better chance of being turned into goals.

One of LAFC’s strengths has always been its midfield and attack. They have several midfielders who are good in attack and defense, which gives the team a lot of versatility and makes it difficult for opposing midfielders. And once these midfielders control the ball, they can spot dangerous attacking wingers like Denis Bouanga or Cristian Olivera. Bouanga once again leads the team with eight goals and five assists, while Olivera added four goals. The midfield is led by Mateusz Bogusz (four goals and two assists) and Timmy Tillman (four goals, two assists). Saturday night will be a big challenge for the Atlanta midfield. Whoever wins the midfield battle will most likely have the upper hand in the competition.

In 13 games this season, Atlanta has only scored one goal in the first 15 minutes of a game. This happened on March 17 against Orlando City when Saba Lobjanidze scored in the 2–0 victory. One of the best ways for the team to build confidence and get the crowd involved on Saturday night is to score that goal early on. In every victory this season, Atlanta has scored the first goal and taken the lead at halftime. On the other hand, LAFC is 7-1-0 (WLT) when scoring the first goal. If the 5 Stripes can be at the forefront from the start and capitalize on the energy of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and score an early goal, they will have a good chance of getting three points and maintaining their momentum.

Fans can tune in to MLS Season Pass on Apple TV Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET when the action begins at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. To hear the action on the radio, tune into Sports Radio 92.9 The Game (English) or La Mejor – AM 1600 (Spanish).