United take their second road trip of 2018 this weekend, traveling down to Atlanta United to compete at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first time in fixture history. The Black-and-Red earned a crucial away point against Orlando City in front of a sell-out crowd (25,527) on March 3 and enter the match against Atlanta confident about their ability to secure critical points during their long road stretch.
Last season, United swept Atlanta and won all three of their matches in the 2017 MLS expansion team’s inaugural season. While Mercedes-Benz Stadium was still under construction, the Black-and-Red traveled to Bobby Dodd Stadium and overcame a 9th-minute goal from Kenwyne Jones to win 3-1 in the first fixture between the two teams in MLS history. Luciano Acosta provided the Black-and-Red’s game-winning goal after an impressive solo run in the 36th minute then placed a well-weighted pass into the path of Sébastien Le Toux who scored the third and final goal (55’).
Atlanta traveled to the nation’s capital twice last season and were unable to earn any points at RFK Stadium. United came from behind again on June 21, 2017, with goals from Luciano Acosta (23’) and Patrick Nyarko (60’) cancelling out a 17th-minute goal from 2017 MLS Rookie of the Year Julian Gressel. In the final fixture of the 2017 season, a Michael Parkhurst own goal in the 46th minute secured three points for the Black-and-Red and took their record to 3-0-0 against Atlanta.
New signing Yamil Asad returns to familiar territory after kickstarting his MLS career with Atlanta in their inaugural season. The midfielder scored seven goals and recorded 13 assists for the Five Stripes, including four goals and three assists at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. After scoring his first goal for his new club in their MLS opener on March 3, Black-and-Red fans will be hopeful that Asad can continue his goal scoring streak at the venue, but for the real United (est. 1996) this time around.
Acosta, who missed the season opener due to a red card in the last match of 2017, will also return to United's midfield rotation on Sunday. The crafty midfielder, who was one of the Black-and-Red's biggest playmakers in their meetings with Atlanta in 2017, will provide head coach Ben Olsen more depth in the center of the pitch than D.C. had last weekend.
For the Five Stripes, rebounding from last weekend will be Sunday's main focus. Atlanta are coming off their biggest defeat in club history after falling to Houston 4-0 at BBVA Compass Stadium in their opening match on March 3. The offensive unit that scored 70 goals in the 2017 MLS regular season managed only two shots on target out of 13 (15% shooting accuracy) and will hope to right the ship against United this weekend.
