Back
Steffen Schmidt - July 14, 2023
Atlanta vs Orlando
USA MLS
Date: 16 July 2023, Sunday
Kick-off at 00:30 UK / 01:30 CET
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta).
There is just one point separating Atlanta United and Orlando City going into their clash on Saturday evening at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Both teams will enter the tie in a negative mood following the recent failures. Atlanta snapped a two-win run with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of New England Revolution on Wednesday evening on the road.
They fired as many as 24 shots, 11 of which went on target, but only managed to find a late consolation goal in Foxborough on the occasion.
The Five Stripes will, however, have a nice chance to bounce back just three days later as they host Orlando who have suffered a painful 4-0 defeat to Real Salt Lake in their previous action last weekend.
Interestingly, such a difficult defeat came just after two magnificent displays in commanding home wins over Chicago Fire and Toronto FC, a streak during which the Lions had notched seven goals.
Orlando’s head coach Gonzalo Pineda has reasons to be worried about his team’s defensive display at Real Salt Lake, especially since the Lions are now set to take on one of the best attacking teams in the competition.
Atlanta United boast one of the best offensive records in MLS with 41 goals scored in 23 outings this term. They are particularly dangerous on the home patch in Georgia and Orlando City will face a very tough task to avoid a similar fate to the one they were dealt in Salt Lake City last weekend.
Atlanta United won three and drew two of the last five league games on the home turf, bagging at least two goals in each of these outings along the way.
Knowing Orlando have just allowed four goals at Real Salt Lake last weekend, we see the value in backing the hosts to win at the 1.95 odds. Alternatively, we like Atlanta’s top scorer Giorgos Giakoumakis to find the back of the net anytime on Saturday at the 2.10 odds.
