MLS: Atlanta United vs. Austin FC Preview, Odds, Prediction

Atlanta United and Austin FC meet tonight at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. While the hosts try to stop the negative streak, the guests want to extend their period of good performances and keep their surprising position in the Western Conference. For the moment, the guys from Texas are second in the West, which is for many a big surprise. As for United, things aren’t well, with injuries hauling the roster, it will be hard for Gonzalo Pineda’s crew to reach the playoffs.

Preview

Atlanta United ( -110) is without a win for the past three games. After losing on the road, to Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls, 2-1 in both events, they played 2-2 against New York City FC, also in the Big Apple. However, we can understand this negative streak, given that Atlanta played all three contests away from home.

The defense has been quite problematic for Pineda, allowing two hits in each of these clashes. Overall, if Union had a bit better back line, they would be placed much better in the standings, because the offense delivers regularly, only they can’t cover up the mistakes in the back all the time.

That is why Atlanta’s nine of the past ten games across all the competitions saw both teams netting. The last time this unit didn’t score was in April this year, so yes, they have a pretty damn good offense.

Austin FC (+280) relies upon fantastic attack, too, and that is the reason why they sit this high in the standings. The franchise from Texas has a fragile defense just like United, but the forwards have been really good since the start of the year.

For instance, Sebastian Druissi is tied at the top of the goalscoring list with 10 goals, and besides that, the Argentinian has four assists as well. Therefore, we can say that the FC’s success is mainly because of their offensive capabilities.

Austin is without a loss in the past four games, winning three and posting one draw. They are pretty good on the road these days, with four victories and only one defeat in the last five outings.

Latest News

Osvaldo Alonso and Dylan Castanheira are out due to injuries, while both Brad Guzan and Miles Robinson have problems with Achilles tendon injuries and are out for quite some time already.

On the other side, Jhojan Valencia is injured, while Kipp Keller serves a red-card suspension.

Head to Head Games

This is the first-ever meeting between these two sides. Austin FC is a new team, and they and Atlanta didn’t have a chance to meet in the past.

Prediction

Goals are our focus here, as we suggest betting on both teams scoring and over 2.5 hits. Obviously, the respective attacks are in good form, while on the other side, the defenses aren’t consistent. Austin knows to provide a clean sheet occasionally, but we doubt that it might happen in Georgia. The hosts have to be aggressive right away. So our final pick is BTTS and Over 2.5 goals, with the odds on that set at -160, which is quite ok.

Pick: BTTS and Over 2.5 goals -160

Here are more MLS Previews and Predictions

 

• Minnesota United vs. Sporting Kansas City
• LA Galaxy vs. San Jose Earthquakes
• DC United vs. Columbus Crew