LAFC at Atlanta United
Saturday, May 25 at 4:30pm PT
Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium - Atlanta, GA 🏟
TV: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass 🖥
Radio: ESPN LA App 📱, KFWB 980 AM La Mera Mera 📻
After a dominant 3-0 win over Loudoun United Tuesday night in the Round of 16 of the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, LAFC faces a quick turnaround, traveling to take on Atlanta United on Saturday, May 25, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Goals from Timothy Tillman and Cristian Olivera, followed by Tomas Ángel’s first-ever tally for LAFC, pushed the Black & Gold through to the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals, which will be played on July 10 against New Mexico United at BMO Stadium.
LAFC faces Atlanta United for the fifth time in the club's history, going 1W-2L-1D in their prior matchups against the Five Stripes, including two losses on the turf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Atlanta in-depth
Led by head coach and former Mexican international Gonzalo Pineda, Atlanta United is looking to jump-start its season and get above the playoff line as it currently sits in 12th place in the Eastern Conference with 13 points through 13 games played.
This week, the Five Stripes also secured a spot in the U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals by defeating Charleston Battery on Tuesday in a 5-4 penalty shootout following a 0-0 full-time draw plus 30 minutes of scoreless extra time.
Despite its Cup run, Atlanta is winless in its last eight matches (0W-4L-4D) in MLS play. Its last win was a 3-0 victory against the Chicago Fire on March 31.
Atlanta may be without its top two goalscorers on Saturday, as Greek international Giorgos Giakoumakis is recovering from a hamstring injury, and 2022 World Cup champion Thiago Almada is dealing with a calf injury.
The Black & Gold Can Win If:
It can build on its first MLS road win of the season, which came last week in St. Louis. After starting the year 0W-4L-1D away from BMO Stadium, LAFC has now won its last two away matches across all competitions (including a 3-1 road result against Las Vegas in the U.S. Open Cup). The Black & Gold has yet to score in Atlanta, losing both of its matches on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium turf (in 2018 and 2021) by a combined score of 6-0.
Atlanta Can Win If:
It carries over the momentum from its U.S Open Cup performance on Tuesday. Going winless in eight straight league games and potentially missing its top two goalscorers will be a challenge, but Atlanta just defeated the best team in the USL (Charleston) and will face LAFC on home turf. The Five Stripes will most likely play in a 4-2-3-1 formation, playing in a mid-block to limit the chances of an LAFC team that has scored 11 goals in its last four games across all competitions.
