Seeking to end a three-match losing streak in MLS, Atlanta United host Nashville SC in Saturday's gameweek 11 fixture at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The away side returned to winning ways with a 7-2 thrashing of the Chicago Fire last weekend and strive to secure consecutive victories for the first time in over a month against off-form hosts.
Match preview
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When Atlanta secured a wildly exciting 4-3 win over New York City FC to close out March, fans of the Five Stripes would have hoped the success was the boost their season needed.
While a 1-1 draw in the following round extended the club's unbeaten streak to three (one win), the subsequent results have dampened the club's optimism.
Defeats to New England Revolution (1-0), Philadelphia Union (3-0) and Orlando City (3-0) have come without Ronny Deila's team scoring, having found the back of the net in four consecutive MLS games before the ongoing drought.
The Atlanta-based club's results leave them 12th in the Eastern Conference, outside the coveted top seven spots and five points adrift of New York City in ninth, which is the second of two wild-card round positions.
Having not made last year's playoffs, the Five Stripes are already facing an uphill battle, considering they have claimed just two wins in 10 MLS games, highlighting the need to secure a positive result this weekend to avoid falling further behind.
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Nashville, in sixth, could rise as high as third in the Eastern Conference if they secure maximum points and results elsewhere go in their favour, with Philadelphia and Charlotte FC three points ahead of BJ Callaghan's team and fifth-placed Inter Miami, who host the New York Red Bulls, two points clear.
The Boys in Gold responded to losing 3-0 at Seattle Sounders with a 7-2 demolition of the Chicago Fire to record their second win in three and fifth overall in 2025.
However, the Coyotes' away results could undermine their ambition to qualify for the playoffs after missing out last year due to a 13th-placed finish.
Nashville enter gameweek 11 after losing three of their four fixtures on their travels, including falling to consecutive defeats at Charlotte (2-1) and Seattle Sounders.
They have been shut out in 50% of their four fixtures away from Tennessee in 2025, scoring four and conceding eight heading into Saturday's fixture.
Nashville's form away from home comes as no surprise for the Coyotes, who ended the previous season losing seven of their last nine MLS fixtures on the road, and the ongoing results mean that the Boys in Gold have been beaten in 10 of 13 away games since the start of July 2024.
Aiming to avoid a third straight loss on their travels, Callaghan's team hope to exploit their hosts' below-par performances and results to strengthen their position in the Eastern Conference's top seven.
Team News
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Derrick Williams (hamstring), Stian Gregersen (hip) and Tristan Muyumba (groin) are missing due to injury for Atlanta.
Emmanuel Latte Lath not only leads the scoring charts for the Five Stripes, but the forward has scored three game-opening goals, showcasing his knack for notching important strikes for the Atlanta-based club.
The visitors have more injury concerns, considering the expected absences of Julian Gaines (thigh), Maximus Ekk (knee), Tyler Boyd (knee) and Walker Zimmerman (head).
Only two players — Philadelphia's Tai Baribo and Chicago Fire's Hugo Cuypers (both on seven) — have scored more than Nashville's Sam Surridge (six), and the Boys in Gold forward, who netted four in last week's 7-2 success against the Fire, could move level or eclipse the top scorers this weekend.
Atlanta United possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Lennon, Cobb, Abram, Amador; Slisz, Klich; Almiron, Miranchuk, Lobzhanidze; Lath
Nashville SC possible starting lineup:
Willis; Najar, Palacios, Maher, Lovitz; Yazbek, Tagseth; Shaffelburg, Mukhtar, Muyl; Surridge
We say: Atlanta United 1-2 Nashville SC
Nashville have dominated this fixture, claiming five wins in 10 meetings with Atlanta, losing just one.
Given the Coyotes' goalscoring form and Surridge's recent four-goal blitz against the Fire, Callaghan's team are backed to end their two-match losing streak away from home.
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