The final homestand of New York City FC's season begins with a Wednesday night visit from Atlanta United FC, a team that's struggled its way to 14th place in the Eastern Conference and looks set to miss the MLS Cup Playoffs for another season, despite having a few high-priced Designated Players. It's now one month since these teams last met at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and to get up to speed with ATLUTD, we caught up with Sydney Hunte of Scarves and Spikes. Here is your NYCFC vs Atlanta United preview.
• League Form: L-L-W-L-D
• Record: 8W, 6D, 17L | 30 points, 14th place
• Scoring Leader(s): Miguel Almirón and Aleksei Miranchuk, 6 goals
• Assist Leader: Aleksei Miranchuk, 6 assists
1. Embolo starting to build confidence
New York Soccer Journal: Breel Embolo has two goals and an assist in the last four matches since NYCFC last played Atlanta. Have the vibes around the big-money summer acquisition improved, and how much confidence is there in Embolo heading into next season?
Sydney Hunte: I wouldn't say they've improved much, but that's mainly because of the general narrative around the team. During the last match against the Chicago Fire, though, I think we got our best glimpse of what he can do when he gets great service, as he scored on a nice header off a ball into the box from Elías Báez in the second half. He could have had a brace if a first-half goal hadn't been disallowed on a very tight offside. He also had a 1v1 on Chris Brady that he very well should have put into the back of the net. The short answer, in my opinion, is that he's showing more ideas off the ball than Emmanuel Latte Lath did before him. If he can bag a few in the stretch run, even with Atlanta out of the running for the playoffs, I think he can build some confidence going into the sprint season. Hopefully the team can bring in a legitimate starting-quality winger, which Tata Martino himself acknowledged the need for recently (even though I'm puzzled why it hadn't already been addressed).
2. Inconsistent defending, sketchy goalkeeping
NYSJ: Atlanta has conceded three goals in three of its last four games played. What's been going wrong lately for the defense?
SH: Two of those goals against the Fire can be directly pinned on Lucas Hoyos. He had a rough stretch to begin the season but settled in and was in decent form. Saturday, though, was his worst showing in an Atlanta United shirt. In the 51st minute, he tried to play a pass into a Chicago press and was punished by giving up the go-ahead goal. Later, he illegally picked up a back pass from Paúlo Diaz inside his own box, leading to an indirect free kick and a Chicago goal in the 60th minute that made it 3-1. In the Inter Miami match, much of it can be attributed to Lionel Messi doing Lionel Messi things, as he bagged a brace. In the Cincinnati match, Atlanta couldn't account for Kevin Denkey, yet another DP who has come to Mercedes-Benz Stadium and dominated. The defense just isn't consistent enough to keep goals out.
