Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports
Whenever the Seattle Sounders and Atlanta United meet, it’s a chance for arguably the two biggest clubs in MLS to measure up one another. Right now, the Sounders are on the ascent while Atlanta is trying to recover from a disastrous 2020 in which they fired their coach after just five games and finished outside the playoffs for the first time in their history
.
Atlanta United is off to a somewhat promising, if still uneven, start. They’re 2-1-2 and in the thick of the playoff race, coming off an emotional win last week in which they found the game winner in the dying moments to send a crowd of 40,000 into delirium. That may be covering for what has otherwise been an inauspicious start to the Gabriel Heinze era, in which they’ve dominated possession but struggled to score.
Seattle Sounders v. Atlanta United: Three Questions
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Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Some people might suggest that Sounders-Five Stripes is a rivalry. These people have never met a real rivalry, like the Heritage Cup. Sure, Atlanta United have a large crowd and an MLS Cup. But it takes more than a rare killing of soccer to make a rivalry. It’s not like the Five Stripes are as good as Toronto, regularly competing for Cups.
Even without a rivalry, this is a key match for Seattle Sounders FC. Brian Schmetzer needs to hold form over the next two matches to get to the break. Plus, it’s fun to dominate Atlanta on national television (FOX, 1:30 PM PT).
WHEN AND WHERE: Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. PT at Lumen Field (
WHERE TO WATCH: The match will be televised on FOX.
WHERE TO LISTEN: The match will air on 950 KJR AM and El Rey 1360 AM.
2021 RECORDS AND STANDINGS (W-D-L): Seattle: 5-1-0 (16 points, 1
st West), Atlanta 2-2-1 (8 points, 4
th East)
FORM GUIDE (Most recent first): Sounders: WWWWD, Atlanta: WDLWD
PREVIOUS MEETING: The Sounders and Atlanta United did not meet in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so this will be their first meeting since July 14, 2019 in Seattle. The Sounders defeated the Five Stripes 2-1 behind goals from Harry Shipp and Raúl Ruidíaz, who pulled off this piece of magic.
Major League Soccer’s eight representatives in this years now possibly postponed US Open Cup were set to be decided after the first three games of the year. Even if this match has no bearing on that competition, it’s still a tremendously important game for the Revs.
Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. Atlanta United
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Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Well guys, we made it. I haven’t written one of these since November, but it’s finally the day before match day once again, which means I get to once again bring you a preview of Orlando City’s opposition from the viewpoint of a fellow SBNation blog.
This week, Orlando kicks off its 2021 season against Atlanta United, so I spoke with
Dirty South Soccer’sDavid McFarland. As usual, he was very informative and helped bring us up to speed on what the Five Stripes look like this year. I also answered a few of his questions about OCSC, which you can find over at their place.