Sports Mole previews Thursday's Major League Soccer clash between Los Angeles FC and Atlanta United, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Los Angeles FC can move into a tie for first in the MLS Western Conference when they host Atlanta United on Wednesday at BMO Stadium.
The reigning MLS Cup champions have yet to lose at home domestically this year, winning their previous league fixture 2-1 against the San Jose Earthquakes, while the Five Stripes are unbeaten in four straight regular-season encounters, drawing the New England Revolution 3-3 at the end of May.
Match preview
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With their CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) campaign ending in heartbreak versus Club Leon, losing 3-1 on aggregate in the final, the focus for LAFC now shifts to the league where they currently find themselves third in the Western Conference on 25 points but having played the fewest games thus far (12).
They have two points more than they accumulated at this same stage last year, while they are averaging 2.08 points per game, second in the league behind FC Cincinnati (2.44).
Steve Cherundolo's men have conceded a goal or fewer in all but one of their MLS home matches this year and have only suffered one regular-season defeat on home soil since October 2021.
LAFC have conceded the fewest goals in the league this year (10), though the Black and Gold have given up at least one in four successive matches in all competitions.
The Black and Gold have never lost a regular season encounter against an Eastern Conference opponent at home, defeating the New England Revolution earlier this season 4-0.
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Atlanta continue to find the back of the net with regularity, tied with St Louis City for the second-most goals scored this year (32), while they are currently sixth in the Eastern Conference.
As entertaining as they have been throughout the campaign thus far, scoring multiple goals eight times, it has come with some drawbacks for Gonzalo Pineda's men, who have conceded 28 times, the second-most in MLS behind Charlotte FC (30), while the Five Stripes have dropped eight points when leading in the second half.
They enter this contest on a seven-match winless run away from home in league play, though they have at least been able to keep their results respectable since losing 6-1 at the Columbus Crew, as five of their last six road games have been decided by a goal or fewer.
In their three previous meetings with LAFC, the Five Stripes have come out on top twice while keeping them off the scoresheet in their two home victories, though they did lose their only previous away game to the Black and Gold 4-3 in 2019.
The Five Stripes have often come to life in the second half of matches throughout the year, scoring 22 goals in the final 45 minutes, including all three in their draw versus the Revs.
Los Angeles FC Major League Soccer form:
- W
- D
- L
- W
- D
- W
Los Angeles FC form (all competitions):
- W
- D
- W
- L
- L
- L
Atlanta United Major League Soccer form:
- L
- L
- W
- D
- D
- D
Team News
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Kellyn Acosta and Giorgio Chiellini were on the field Sunday in the CCL final after previously missing time with issues to their lower extremities, Tony Leone is still dealing with a right leg injury and Maxime Crepeau continues to recover from a broken leg.
Denis Bouanga is tied with Hany Mukhtar in the golden boot race on 10 goals, though his four-match MLS scoring streak ended in their previous domestic encounter when Stipe Biuk and Carlos Vela found the back of the net in a victory over the Quakes.
In his first season with the Black and Gold, Timothy Tillman has two goals, while Kwadwo Opoku is also on two after notching eight in the 2022 regular season.
Giorgos Giakoumakis, who has a goal in three of the last four games with Atlanta, but he will have to sit this one out after collecting another yellow card the last time out, Caleb Wiley may not be ready for this match after the United States Under-20 team were knocked out of the World Cup this weekend, Amar Sejdic has a calf strain and Osvaldo Alonso remains out following his ACL surgery.
Giakoumakis, Thiago Almada and Miguel Berry each scored in their previous encounter, while the reigning world champion with Argentina leads the league in assists (five) and key passes (40).
Former striker Josef Martinez had the only goal in their last meeting with LAFC in 2021, while Brad Guzan has shut them out on two occasions.
Los Angeles FC possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Hollingshead, Palencia, Maldonado, Palacios; Tillman, Sanchez; Opoku, Cifuentes, Biuk; Vela
Atlanta United possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Lennon, Robinson, Abram, Gutman; Sosa, Ibarra; Araujo, Almada, Etienne; Berry
We say: Los Angeles FC 2-0 Atlanta United
Los Angeles are a resilient group and should be able to bounce back from the disappointment of their Champions League defeat on Sunday.
Meanwhile, losing Giakoumakis is a big blow for the Five Stripes, while they have not shown they can keep the ball out of their goal all season.
How to watch
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For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:curl
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