Major League Soccer 2023-24: Atlanta United vs Toronto, Predicted Lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

The Reds will travel to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to clash with The Five Stripes on Saturday.

An exciting clash in the MLS takes place this weekend. Atlanta United will be bidding to record a second straight win, while Toronto will be looking to respond after losing on the opening day. Following a dramatic come-from-behind victory last weekend, Atlanta United have a chance to win their opening two matches of an MLS season for the first time since 2020 when they host Toronto on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. A pair of injury-time goals enabled the Five Stripes to defeat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1, while TFC conceded twice in the dying stages of their first match, dropping a 3-2 decision at DC United.

Two of the next three encounters for Atlanta will be under the dome at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the Five Stripes have dropped just one of their last five regular season affairs since September 2022. Toronto switched off in injury time to allow United to steal the victory, as they conceded goals in the 90th and 98th minutes. Federico Benardeschi and Mark-Anthony Kaye scored the goals in the defeat for the Reds.

Kick-off:

Saturday, 04-03-2023, 7:30 PM (EST)

Sunday, 05-03-2023, 6:00 AM (IST) | 12:30 AM (GMT)

Atlanta United form(all Competitions)- W

Toronto form(all Competitions)- L

Players to Watch

Atlanta United: Thiago Almada

Thiago Almada is a quick-footed, fast-thinking player, he uses the ball very well in tight spaces and looks to use these advanced areas both on the ball as a playmaker and off the ball with forward runs as a more defined attacker. Because of his versatility as an attacker – possessing that balance between goal creation and goal scoring. Thiago Almada is a high-volume, high-accuracy dribbler, and the way he moves into spaces and breaks lines is amazing. Almada is able to use a low centre of gravity to shift his speed quickly and unpredictably; he has great balance and agility, he is able to change direction as quickly and as unpredictably; he uses short touches to keep close control over the ball.

Toronto: Federico Bernardeschi 

Bernardeschi is clearly a talented player capable of contributing goals and assists, progressive play for his team and helping to win the ball back in the attacking third when his team is out of possession. His ability to hold onto the ball higher up the field to allow the rest of the team to join the attack from deeper positions is really good. His contributions will be very crucial for his team in the upcoming matches.

Match Facts

• The most common result of matches between Atlanta United FC and Toronto FC is 2-2. 3 matches have ended with this result.

• During the last 13 meetings, Atlanta United FC have won 4 times, there have been 4 draws while Toronto FC have won 5 times. The goal difference is 21-21 in favour of Atlanta United FC.

• Atlanta United FC scores 1.8 goals in a match against Toronto FC and Toronto FC scores 1 goals against Atlanta United FC (on average).

Injury and team news

Tyler Wolff missed the opening game for the Atalanta with a shoulder strain, Machop Chol was out due to a sore hamstring, Osvaldo Alonso continues to recover from his ACL injury, Santiago Sosa will sit this one out through suspension and the club is still working on a visa for Giorgos Giakoumakis, who signed with them in early February from Scottish Premiership champions Celtic.

The return of Victor Vazquez to Toronto will have to wait as the Spanish midfielder missed their opener with an upper-body issue, Themi Antonoglou is dealing with lower-body problems, while the team will be keeping a close eye on the health of Lorenzo Insigne, who according to his coach felt something in his lower leg and was replaced by Ayo Akinola in the opening half last weekend.

Head-to-Head Stats

Matches: 13

Atlanta United: 4

Toronto: 5

Draws: 4

Predicted Lineup

Atlanta United Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1):

Guzan; Lennon, Purata, Robinson, Gutman; Ibarra, Rossetto; Sejdic, Almada, Araujo; Etienne

Toronto Predicted Lineup (4-3-3):

Johnson; Laryea, Hedges, Rosted, Petretta; Bradley; Osorio, Servania, Kaye; Diomande, Bernardeschi

Prediction

Both of these sides were involved in dramatic finishes in the opening round of fixtures. We could see this being a more comfortable evening for Atlanta on Saturday. The Five Stripes should have the bulk of the possession as usual, and we believe that they will be able to expose the Toronto frailties out wide and maintain their unbeaten record at home against them in the regular season.

Prediction: Atlanta United 2-0 Toronto

Telecast

India: Apple TV

UK: Apple TV

USA: Apple TV

Nigeria: None