Atlanta United have a chance to end a 10-game winless run away from home when they take on the Columbus Crew on Sunday at Lower.com Field in their 26th match of the Major League Soccer campaign.
Columbus earned a valuable point at Colorado last weekend (1-1), putting them a point above the playoff line, while the Five Stripes are nearing desperation times, second from the bottom in the Eastern Conference, four points back of seventh.
Match preview
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The mood in Columbus right now is upbeat and understandably so as the Crew have only lost one of their previous 12 MLS encounters.
Right now, this team have an eerily similar feel to the one that captured the title in 2020, as their star players are heating up and peaking at the right time.
Caleb Porter knows, however that his side are not out of the woods just yet as only two points separate them in fifth from Charlotte FC, who sit 10th.
As good as they have been playing lately the Crew have missed a number of opportunities to climb further up the table this season, squandering 11 points from winning positions.
We have seen them make great strides defensively from what we saw in 2021, conceding the second-fewest goals in the Eastern Conference this year (27) after allowing 45 and missing the playoffs last season.
In 2022, Columbus have conceded a goal or fewer in eight matches played at Lower.com Field, and three of their next four games will take place at home.
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For much of the campaign, it has been one step forward and two steps back in Atlanta, who have six teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
The Five Stripes have been late bloomers in August, scoring a goal in each of their last three games with fewer than 10 minutes to play, which last week was too little too late as they dropped a 2-1 decision to the New York Red Bulls.
Gonzalo Pineda's men have no trouble maintaining possession during an encounter, but they are not always able to make that possession count, scoring the fourth-fewest goals in the East (34).
Atlanta have been involved in their share of close encounters during the campaign and will feel a little hard done by knowing they have lost seven matches by a single goal.
Coming into this match, the Five Stripes have failed to win their previous 10 away games, and with five of their final nine fixtures being on the road, that is a stat they will have to change if they want to make it into the postseason.
They have also conceded four first-half goals in their previous two matches and have not won all season when trailing at the interval.
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Team News
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Cucho Hernandez picked up his sixth goal of the season for Columbus last Saturday, helping them draw the Rapids, putting him two back of Lucas Zelarayan for the team lead.
Pedro Santos collected his third assist of the year on that play, moving him into third, two behind Zelarayan and Derrick Etienne.
Jonathan Mensah and Erik Hurtado tallied in their 2-1 victory over Atlanta earlier this year, while Eloy Room has picked up seven clean sheets over the campaign, five of which have come at Lower.com Field.
Kevin Molino is listed as questionable because of right thigh tightness, while Porter went with the same starting 11 and used the same substitutes against Colorado as he did versus New York City FC.
Josef Martinez picked up his sixth goal of the season in a losing effort against the Red Bulls this week, moving the Atlanta striker one back of Ronaldo Cisneros for the team lead, while Luiz Araujo notched his fifth assist of the year, as he is now tied with Thiago Almada for the most on the team.
Dom Dwyer had the only goal in the Five Stripes 2-1 defeat against Columbus in late May, thanks to a nice set-up from Alan Franco.
Matheus Rossetto is questionable because of an ankle problem, George Campbell is also a question mark with an adductor strain and Emerson Hyndman has an issue with his quad.
Miles Robinson, Brad Guzan and Dylan Castanheira remain sidelined with Achilles injuries and Osvaldo Alonso is out due to a torn ACL.
Columbus Crew possible starting lineup:
Room; Santos, Degenek, Mensah, Moreira; Nagbe, Artur; Etienne, Zelarayan, Diaz; Hernandez
Atlanta United possible starting lineup:
Rios Novo; Hernandez, Purata, Franco, Lennon; Sosa; Cisneros, Moreno, Dwyer, Almada; Martinez
We say: Columbus Crew 2-1 Atlanta United
Everything seems to be clicking for the Crew right now, and even though they are heavily dependent on a couple of individuals, they have a ton of momentum on their side and are playing at a level worthy of a playoff appearance which cannot be said with the Five Stripes at the moment.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joel Lefevre
