Opposition scouting report: Atlanta United

A popular pick to contend for the Supporters' Shield after spending about $50 million in transfers over the previous two windows, Atlanta United is closer to contending for the Wooden Spoon. To help us understand, we reached out to Sydney Hunte of Scarves and Spikes to share some insight.

Notable injuries

Jay Fortune settled in as the starting midfielder for Atlanta United but suffered a mid-foot sprain in the Gold Cup against Saudi Arabia and is out for the rest of the season. The other big one is Stian Gregersen, who was projected to be the starting centerback but hasn't played since April due to a quad injury.

The only other injury is backup goalkeeper Josh Cohen (fractured forearm).

What kind of form has Atlanta United been in?

To say Atlanta's form has been bad is an understatement: they haven't won in seven matches (0-4-3) after a 3-2 loss to Charlotte FC. It's amazing to think that going into 2025 with so much invested in the attack that we’d be at this point, but here we are. Losing to Charlotte FC, a match where Atlanta took a 1-0 lead in the first half before giving up three unanswered goals in the second (including one 15 seconds in), pretty much killed off any hope of a miracle playoff run to end the season. Emmanuel Latte Lath (7 goals, 1 assist) has fallen short of expectations, Alexey Miranchuk (3 goals, 4 assists) is a No. 10 but does more to kill the attack than spark it, and Miguel Almiron (3 goals, 5 assists) has shown flashes but is not the player we saw in 2017 and 2018.

Key players

Bartosz Slisz is the easy call for me as he has been on another level over the past few matches. He has emerged as not only a strong midfield presence but also a player who can serve as an emotional leader on this team. One play in particular that comes to mind is during the Charlotte match, where in the 6th minute of stoppage time and with Atlanta trailing 3-2, he raced downfield on a recovery run to stop what could have ended up being a fourth Charlotte goal — and looked like he'd just come into the match. I think that if Atlanta had 5 or 6 Sliszs, they'd be in much better shape.

I’m adding a couple of Homegrowns to this list: Will Reilly and Luke Brennan. Brennan has slowly played a bigger role since fellow winger Edwin Mosquera was loaned to Colombia's Millonarios and looked good against Charlotte in his first MLS start (he received a pair of starts last year in the Open Cup). Reilly has also been solid when called upon, even scoring his first MLS goal in a 2-2 draw against Chicago on July 16.

One thing to know about Atlanta United

It's all eyes on 2026 for this team from here on out. They have Albanian international centerback Enea Mihaj coming in from Portugal's top flight and Hull City midfielder Steven Alzate (a former Colombian international) reportedly close to arriving. Those moves are being made to help lay the groundwork for what should be a busy next couple of transfer windows, considering the number of players that will be either out of contract or are on options for 2026.

I'd be remiss, too, if I didn't make note of Garth Lagerwey in the wake of his recent cancer diagnosis. At the end of the day, some things are bigger than soccer, and I do hope and pray that he can beat this disease and get back to work as soon as possible.

Projected lineup

4-2-3-1: Guzan; Amador, Williams, Abram, Lennon; Slisz, Muyumba, Miranchuk, Saba, Almiron; Latte Lath