MLS: Atlanta United vs. New York City FC Preview, Betting Tips, Predictions, Picks

Atlanta United won after a while last weekend and now faces New York City FC. The Five Stripes want to continue posting triumphs and moving up the standings in the East. Meanwhile, the FC is in problems, without consistency, and struggling to record positive results lately, so it sits outside the playoff zone. Nick Cushing’s unit needs to find some kind of a secret formula to improve the situation, otherwise, this might be a very nasty year for them.

Preview

Atlanta United (-110) finally won last weekend. After four consecutive draws, the Five Stripes took three points, regaining some of its lost confidence throughout this odd stretch. The victim was Washington DC, whom they beat 3-1. 

At first, they would meet with Chicago Fire in Illinois, 3-3, then traveled to Orlando to meet City, 1-1, before another fireworks, only this time at home, against the New England Revolution, 3-3. The most recent tie was against LA FC in California, where we haven’t seen any goals, which was pretty surprising knowing how these two units play. 

Atlanta’s performances at home are pretty efficient; for instance, the past six were all with three or more goals (the latest three all over 3.5), and only one was without scores on both ends. 

New York City FC (+300) is without a victory for the previous ten games, losing six of them and having four draws. They are maybe in the worst form of all the teams in the MLS right now.

The Citizens have three consecutive ties, two at home and one on the road. The first was against the Revolution in New York, 0-0, then on the road against Real Salt Lake, also without goals, before last weekend’s 1-1 at the Yankee Stadium against the Columbus Crew. 

Overall, the team has all sorts of problems, but the offense and scoring are the biggest one, with City failing to hit the back of the rival’s net in five of the previous ten meetings. Playing away from home is another issue, as Cushing’s unit still didn’t win outside New York since the campaign started.

Latest News

Santiago Sosa and Erik Lopes are both out of the picture for the hosts.

Thiago Martins is unavailable for the guests. All three players are injured.

Head to Head 

The first meeting of the year was in New York, back in early April, when New York hosted Atlanta. We saw no winners back then, as the game concluded 1-1. The guests had a player fewer on the field for more than 30 minutes, and managed to take the lead, but conceded on the other end two minutes later.

Prediction

This is one pick we don’t have any doubts about. Atlanta has a nice chance to continue its rise and additionally boost morale. Across the field, they will have one of the worst visitors on the road, who is struggling to provide resistance in such cases. That’s why we pick the hosts to take all three points, with the odds set at -110, which is why higher than we anticipated. We need to take this gift. 

Pick: Atlanta United -110