Atlanta United vs. New England Revolution Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta October 6 – 4:00 PM ET Fox Sports Southeast AJC.com United home page here. MLSsoccer.com preview here. ATLUTD.com preview here. Revs preview here. Keeping it simple as I'm having PC issues for some reason. That plus the fall weather that has FINALLY arrived is coaxing me outside. Decision Day brings a few story lines to this match, namely that Atlanta needs a win to secure 2nd in the east and prospect of hosting more than 1 playoff match at MBS. If that happens the Revs will be coming back as the 1st round opponent. If Atlanta loses or draws Philly could get second, while the revs are seeing a win that might take them to 6th. New England comes in having gained 4 draws and a win in their last 6, with 2019 signee Gustavo Bou adding some potency to the midfield and giving their side a more dynamic attack. Mid-season appointee Bruce Arena shepherded the team to a nice boost that has since waned but they've still claimed their first post-season invite since 2015. MLS' moves for parity mean the Revs can play with anyone on their day, but they lack the horses to make it their day week in and week out. They're a playoff team but with only 1 more win than losses. For Atlanta the speculation is that Josef will return and Roberson has Barco in for Hyndman. The team is still searching for a return to peak form as they head into the playoffs and the hope is the rest they've received after that crush of games will help their efforts. Besides that there's not much more to say that isn't already known. Save that New England has never beaten Atlanta. Here's hoping that run continues for at least 2 more games. Atlanta 2-0 New England
There's a chance we won't see Josef. That said, it seems like he just took a very hard knock and not much more, so maybe nothing to aggravate but the swelling. He'll have two weeks after today. In any case, FdB has made it Josef's call. If Josef says (or "said"- by now he has certainly made his decision), "let's go", I hope he isn't started, but comes in only if needed. Arena is no fool, and showing him all our cards now can only help him for the 19th. 2-1 AUFC, Revs score late to make it dicey, but we win anyway. We need a good win for the sake of remembering what it was like to get a good win.
Looks like Josef is starting. Not sure how playing a healthy Jose Martinez is showing Bruce Arena your cards? Obviously, even if Josef didn't play today, the NE Revolution know he will be our starter in two weeks.
Could be viewed as a Barco for Pity swap, as well. Will be interesting to see the reasoning. Barco's speed should help vs. NER defense. Jeff also in for Remedi, which means Nagbe gets to push up.
I don't mind the linesman not raising the flag when the offside call is close, but when it is clearly offside raise the flag.
Ugh. Well, at least Philly's losing ATM 2-0. NE playing thug ball. We have an NFL for that kind of athleticism.
My guess is a 3-1-4-1-1 ————-Martinez———- ————--Barco————- Meram—Nag—Emo—Gress —————-Jeff————— ——LGP—-Miles—Franco— —————-Guzan————-
Can definitely tell we are playing against Arena... Defend with 10 people behind the ball, and counter with athleticism.
If we weren't so sloppy in the back Arena's tactics would not matter. Escobar is having a tough night. Hopefully he can find his form in the 2nd half.
HT: 1-1 NER with the most quality chances, plus they had a spell of control for about 15 minutes where they kept Atlanta in their own half. Problem lies in midfield marking, near I can tell. When NER moves the ball around someone is getting free to make a pass through the channels, which in variably have been open for players running forward. It looks like Bou and Gil(?) are finding ways to lose their mark when driving forward, causing LGP and Miles to get overrun. Ideally this is simply due to the D-mid (Jeff) not covering, but he's stayed pretty centrally. I think Revs formation is allowing 2 players freedom to roam side to side, so Jeff is also being overrun. Atlanta needs to hold possession better and especially move it forward. Hyndman and Barco have shown hustle but we haven't been productive. If Barco's pace can't work Pity will surely come in to at least make better passes. I'd also charge Meram with playing higher and forcing Hyndman to come back more; Attack from the left has been non-existent and we'd be better served with Justin racing down the wing than Hyndman constantly cutting toward the center and simply trying a safe pass. I feel, anyway.
If we can pull this one out what I’d do in the playoffs... —————Josef————— —————-Pity—————— Meram-Nagbe-Barco-Gressel ————Larentowicz———— —-LGP——Miles——Franco—- —————Guzan—————— Bench: Kann, Parkhurst, Pogba, Remedi, Emo, Pereira, Villalba
Other than that sloppy pass that killed a break I think Emo is playing really well. And Gressel with the haf-volley! HUP!