MLS: Atlanta United vs. Orlando City Preview, Odds, Prediction

Atlanta United and Orlando City will meet at the Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Georgia this Sunday night. The playoff battle is reaching its highest point now, and both of these clubs are in the mix for the postseason. Atlanta is outside the playoff zone, but they are pretty close, with a game or two in hand compared to all the direct rivals. On the other side, Orlando is in the playoff zone, but they need to keep winning points to stay there, because the competition is very harsh.

Preview

Atlanta United (-110) won the last game against Real Salt Lake 2-1. It was the first one after four consecutive in which United hadn’t won, in three of them losing, with one draw. Throughout that negative stretch, and during the entire season, the defense has been a problem for United, who would allow two or more goals in pretty much all the events in which they haven’t won.

The efficiency of Atlanta’s games is high, and only one of the most recent ten didn’t end with three or more hits. Regarding the frequency of scoring on both ends, eight of the last 10 events have seen goals on both sides, yet another proof that Atlanta’s games provide excitement.

In the past four home events, Atlanta has wins and losses, winning and losing twice, and each of those contests hashas been with a moderate efficiency, 2 or 3 goals.

Orlando City (+280) doesn’t have any consistency at all, and their result list is colorful since late May. Four wins (two of them in the US Open Cup following extra times_and, three losses and draws.

The previous two MLS events were against Inter Miami, 1-0 and the second against Colorado Rapids on the road, 1-1, and overall, the Lions accepted the results as solid and are satisfied.

The problematic thing is that they didn’t win away from home since mid-May, having three draws and one loss. The rivals were Austin, Revolution, Cincinnati and Rapids. Under 2.5 goals have been seen in four of the previous five outings, meaning that the efficiency of the games on the road Orlando has is low.

Latest News

Osvaldo Alonso, Andrew Gutman, Brad Guzan, Ronald Hernandez, Emerson Hyndman, Brooks Lennon, Miles Robinson and Dylan Castanheir are all out for this one.

Mason Stajduhar is injured and unavailable for Orlando, while Joao Moutinho and Adam Grinwis sit as doubtful.

Head to Head Games

The last direct encounter was in September 2021, and Atlanta rolled over Orlando, beating them 3-0. Previously, two months earlier, we’ve seen the Lions triumphing at home, 3-2.

Prediction

The event will be tough, because the hosts lack quite a few players, while on the other side, Orlando tends to play defensive-minded games away from home. That is why we believe that it is the best thing to bet on low efficiency, meaning under 2.5 goals. The bookmakers have a different opinion, which is why they’ve set the odds on our suggestion at +120. It is worth trying, especially with all the circumstances involved, and we think that this pick has a value.

Pick: Under 2.5 goals +120