The top team in Major League Soccer will look to remain unbeaten, as the Seattle Sounders welcome Atlanta United to Lumen Field on Sunday.
The 2020 MLS Cup runners-up are on a roll, winning three straight matches, while Atlanta are coming off of some late drama, scoring in the 94th minute to beat CF Montreal 1-0 last week in front of a crowd of over 40,000 people at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Match preview
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After six regular-season games, finding a flaw in the Seattle Sounders' play up to this point is proving to be extremely difficult.
Without a pre-season and facing the challenge of playing six games in the opening month against four playoff teams from 2020 seemed like a tall order, but Seattle have made it all look easy.
Considering the fact that manager Brian Schmetzer implemented a new 3-4-1-2 formation makes their achievements even more impressive, having won five games and drawn once.
The scary thing for the rest of the league right now is that some Sounders players have said they still need to improve, with left wing-back Brad Smith stating that they need to have stronger starts, having only scored three goals in the opening 45 minutes of a match all season.
As they continue their three-game homestand, they will have it in the back of their minds that this regular season has only just begun, and they will know better than most that there is a long way to go if they want to return to the MLS Cup final for a third consecutive year.
The absence of goalkeeper Stefan Frei did not seem to affect the team whatsoever last Sunday as backup Stefan Cleveland had to make a mere three saves to collect a clean sheet in his first match of this campaign.
Atlanta United have started this season with a mixture of good and bad performances.
The latest moment was a good one as they managed an emotional victory against Montreal to move them into fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
As memorable as that late strike from Marcelino Moreno was last week, there are still many things that manager Gabriel Heinze needs to fix before this team can take their game to the next level.
Their biggest flaw so far seems to be a lack of creativity in the middle of the pitch, which means goalscoring opportunities have been scarce for them through their first five games.
The 2018 MLS Cup champions have only scored four goals from open play this year, which is tied for the fifth-fewest in the league.
Atlanta have dominated in the possession department this season, with 60% or more in all but one of their MLS matches so far.
However, they look lost upfront and even with striker Josef Martinez back from injury, they still seem to lack the quality needed in the final third.
Considering where this team was in 2020, Atlanta have to be pleased with where they are currently sitting, going unbeaten in their last three games in all competitions.
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Team News
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The Sounders may be without their first-choice keeper Stefan Frei due to a knee injury, while defensive midfielder Jordy Delem will be out for the long term with a cruciate ligament rupture.
Midfielder Alex Roldan has been terrific in the middle of the park for the Sounders, leading the league with 20 interceptions.
Atlanta could be without a trio of wingers for this match, as Ezequiel Barco, Jurgen Damm and Machop Chol are all nursing leg injuries.
In their only three meetings against the Sounders, the only two Atlanta goals were scored by Josef Martinez, the 2018 MLS Cup MVP, who has only found the back of the net once in 2021.
Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:
Cleveland; Gomez, Arreaga, Tolo; A. Roldan, Rowe, Paulo, Smith; C. Roldan; Bruin, Ruidiaz
Atlanta United possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Bello, Walkes, Robinson, Lennon; Moreno, Sosa, Hyndman; Lopez, Martinez, Mulraney
We say: Seattle Sounders 2-1 Atlanta United
Seattle are hitting their stride, winning three in a row and looking virtually unbeatable so far at home, with three wins at Lumen Field, scoring nine times without conceding.
Atlanta have made things touch for Seattle in the regular season before, earning two draws in their three meetings against them, but they have struggled to create a lot of quality scoring chances, which they will need to break down the best defensive team at the moment in MLS.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Seattle Sounders win with a probability of 57.29%. A draw had a probability of 22.6% and a win for Atlanta United had a probability of 20.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Seattle Sounders win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.75%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.93%) and 2-1 (9.9%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.71%), while for an Atlanta United win it was 0-1 (5.8%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 10.7% likelihood.
