When you play a fellow MLS team in preseason, it is all about getting those minutes and tactics worked on. When FC Dallas faced off against Atlanta United back in February, the result was fine. They didn't win but they also didn't play too poorly at the same time.
We're six games into the new season and both clubs appear to be fairly different from the clubs that met in preseason. We can take a tiny bit of scouting from that February friendly, but in all reality, diving into the Five Stripes needs to come from actual league games.
Atlanta enters Saturday's game off a wild 4-3 win at home against NYCFC. A game that saw them down 3-1 after 60 minutes to boot. Defensively, they're leaking goals but you cannot sleep on their attack.
Let's dive into Saturday's opponent a bit to see what Atlanta brings to the match and how FC Dallas could come away with some points on the road for a fourth straight game.
Key Player: Latte Lath
Atlanta spent big to get Lath from the Premier League and so far it is paying off. He's got five goals in six games and looks very much like a Golden Boot contender this season.
Key Matchup: Derrick Williams vs Petar Musa
Williams had some pretty rough touches and passes last week against NYCFC that the Pigeons picked up on and created some good chances on goal from, too. I want to see Musa a bit more involved up the field in a game like this if we can and applying some pressure on the Atlanta backline would help keep some pressure off the Dallas defense.
Availability Report1:
Suspended: none
Out: Edwin Mosquera (ankle), Tristan Muyumba (knee), Jamal Thiaré (quad)
Questionable: none
On Loan: none
International duty: none
Quick Notes:
Last time against FCD: The two clubs last faced one another in the 2023 season, which resulted in a 2-2 draw in Frisco.
All-time against FCD: Because of the amount of clubs in MLS these days, Atlanta and Dallas aren't able to face one another every season. This will be only the sixth meeting all-time, but it will be the fourth time in Atlanta. The all-time series is currently tied at two wins for each club and one draw.
Potential Lineup:
Ronny Deila hasn't been able to have his best choice lineup in the back more than once this season, so expect some more rotation on Saturday.
Guzan, Silva, Williams, Gregersen, Lennon; Klich, Miranchuk, Slisz; Lobjanidze, Lath, AlmirĂłn
Keys To Three Points over Atlanta
- Make the most of the counter: We saw last week against Sporting and at times against teams like Colorado and Houston that this team can work the counter attack to their benefit. Being on the road in a place like Atlanta will likely mean you will be on your back foot a bit more defensively. Once Dallas wins the ball off a turnover, those passes and outlets to Lucho Acosta and Petar Musa need to happen quickly up the field to keep this Atlanta defense under pressure.
- Apply some pressure: If you watch any of the wild 4-3 draw between Atlanta and NYCFC from last weekend, the one thing NYCFC was able to do to get to a 3-1 lead (that they later blew) was applying some pressure and turnovers on the Atlanta defense. This could be where Anderson Julio could excell in this new setup that Eric Quill is using (a 4-3-3 diamond formation). Let him be a gnat around the Atlanta defense and force turnovers in dangerous spots.
- Don't sleep on their stars: It sounds super obvious, but the Dallas defense cannot have a down evening in Atlanta against the stars that Atlanta United has these days. While it will be natural to focus on Miguel AlmirĂłn or Latte Lath, but Atlanta has so much more in their attack to deal with that is just as dangerous. Alexey Miranchuk is proving to be a pretty solid in their attack, while anyone who watched the preseason meeting with Atlanta knows Seba Lobjanidze can cause a lot of issues.
1 Note: MLS has a new injury report deadline that doesn’t hit until the day before each game. I will put last week’s report in these scouting reports and update where I can ahead of the weekly release from the league.
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