Toronto manager: John Herdman
Atlanta United away record: 0-1-0
Toronto home record: 1-0-0
Toronto goals for/against: 3/2
Toronto expected goals for/against: 3.0/5.0
Atlanta United goals for/against: 6/2
Atlanta United expected goals for/against: 4.6/3.0
Atlanta United all-time vs Toronto: 4-4-6, 1-3-2 on road
Toronto key players
Lorenzo Insigne: Two goals
Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty: One goal
Atlanta United key players
Saba Lobjanidze: One goal
Brooks Lennon: Two assists
Injury reports
Atlanta United
Out (for international duty): Luis Abram, Thiago Almada, Jay Fortune, Giorgos Giakoumakis, Bartosz Slisz and Caleb Wiley.
Out (for injury): Stian Gregersen (knee).
Toronto
None reported.
Storylines to watch
1. Where will the goals come from? Atlanta United has scored six goals this season. The players who scored five of those won’t be available for selection because they are elsewhere with their national teams. It will be a chance for Jamal Thiare, who will step in for Giakoumakis (four goals) and Edwin Mosquera to show they can provide when it’s their turn.
2. Who will replace Almada? Nic Firmino played as the attacking midfielder during the preseason while Almada was with the Argentina U23s. Pineda could simply plug and play by putting Firmino into the lineup, or he could move Lobjanidze from the wing into that spot and start Mosquera on the right wing.
3. Defensive focus. Atlanta United earned its first shutout last week. With an offense that may struggle to produce, it will be imperative for it to keep its focus for 90 minutes. It may be more difficult with the loss of centerback Stian Gregersen to a knee injury.
What was said
“For me, my mentality is if we can win, we can’t lose. So coming from that point, every point matters. And every game in MLS is difficult.” – Ronald Hernandez
“My preseason was good. And the goal is to continue that because at the end of the day, everybody’s going to be important for this Saturday, and the goal is to come back with three points.” – Jamal Thiare
“We’ve been working this year, a lot, on us a lot. Regardless of who we playing, we are trying to play exactly the same way. And so it would be unfair for me, we’ve been training for what, two, three months now, and then suddenly I changed the system just because we have a couple absences. So I’m going to just put the players that have been training in the same system, and we’ll go from there.” – Pineda
“Yeah, it’s a good opportunity for them to be in with the first team, to travel with the first team. It’s an opportunity to bring more experience for them. And the best advice I can give is to stay yourself. And if you have the opportunity to play a few minutes, just be yourself. If you are there, it’s because you got some quality. So stay yourself.” – Tristan Muyumba, on advice the less-experienced players who may play
Atlanta United’s predicted 11
Goalkeeper Brad Guzan
Centerback Derrick Williams
Centerback Noah Cobb
Right fullback Brooks Lennon
Left fullback Ronald Hernandez
Defensive midfielder Dax McCarty
Midfielder Tristan Muyumba
Attacking midfielder Nic Firmino
Winger Saba Lobjanidze
Winger Xande Silva
Striker Jamal Thiare
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Atlanta United’s 2024 schedule
Feb. 24 Columbus 1, Atlanta United 0
March 9 Atlanta United 4, New England 1
March 17 Atlanta United 2, Orlando 0
March 23 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
March 31 vs. Chicago, 3:30 p.m., FOX
April 6 at NYCFC, 7:30 p.m.
April 14 vs. Philadelphia, 2:30 p.m., FOX
April 20 vs. Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
April 27 at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
May 4 vs. Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.
May 11 vs. D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
May 15 at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
May 18 at Nashville, 1:30 p.m.
May 25 vs. LAFC, 7:30 p.m.
May 29 at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
June 2 vs Charlotte, 4:30 p.m., FOX
June 15 vs. Houston, 7:30 p.m.
June 19 at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m.
June 22 at St. Louis, 8:30 p.m.
June 29 vs. Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
July 3 at New England, 7:30 p.m.
July 6 at Real Salt Lake, 9:30 p.m.
July 13 at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
July 17 vs. NYCFC, 7:30 p.m.
July 20 vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
July 26 vs. D.C. United in Leagues Cup, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 4 vs. Santos Laguna in Leagues Cup, 4 p.m.
Aug. 24 at L.A. Galaxy, 10:30 p.m.
Aug. 31 at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 14 vs. Nashville, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 18 vs. Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 21 at Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 28 at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 2 vs. Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 5 vs. Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 19 at Orlando, 6 p.m.
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