• Matchday 27: Atlanta United FC vs New York City FC
• Date and Kickoff Time: Saturday, September 26, 7:40 pm ET
• Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
• Forecast: Domed stadium with a retractable roof, but outside, it'll be 74F/23C and pleasant
• Watch: Apple TV
• Apple Broadcast Team: Jessica Charman and Ian Joy (English); Bruno Vain and Andres Agulla (Spanish)
• New York City FC Radio: Glenn Crooks and Matt Lawrence (English), Roberto Abramowitz and Ariel Judas (Spanish)
• Officiating Crew: Alexis Da Silva (referee), Cory Richardson and Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho (assistant referees), Laura Rodriguez (fourth official), Geoff Gamble (VAR), Robert Schaap (assistant VAR)
• Kits: New York City will be in the sky-blue Excelsior Kit; Atlanta in its black-and-red striped The Connector Kit
Major League Soccer is doing that thing again, playing regular-season matches right in the middle of a FIFA international break.
That includes Matchday 27 for New York City FC as the club travels south, escaping this massive nor'easter hitting the northeast to go to Georgia to play Atlanta United FC.
New York City is hoping to right some of its recent wrongs, like losing at home to Red Bull New York, and like falling below the playoff qualification line at this late in the season for the first time in years.
Both teams will be playing without a bunch of their regular starters on account of national team call-ups. A combined 10 players are missing while with their national teams. New York City FC has zero obvious remaining right-backs, with Tayvon Gray (Jamaica) and Mitja Ilenič (Slovenia U-21s) away, and with Drew Baiera and Kai Trewin injured.
Atlanta won't have the two players who have paced their (underperforming) attack all season long, with top scorers and assisters, Alexey Miranchuk and Miguel Almirón, away with Russia and Paraguay, respectively. Atlanta also has the worst home record of any team in the MLS Eastern Conference this season, picking up only 13 points from 12 home matches played to date.
New York City desperately needs a positive result from this game, as this is one of four matches left this season against teams below NYCFC in the Eastern Conference standings. It's also the last match played before a two-week break to actually respect the remainder of the FIFA international window, so a win or draw at Mercedes-Benz Stadium combined with favorable results elsewhere could quickly change the conversation about NYCFC and its chances of reaching the postseason.
Andrew Leigh
New York City FC H2H Record vs Atlanta
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 34 | 28 | 6 |
The score often ends level when these teams meet. Eight draws through 19 matches played across all competitions, with a stretch of four consecutive draws between 2023 and 2024 snapped when each team picked up a home win from the pair of 2025 meetings.
Home-field advantage has been significant in this matchup, too. Atlanta has only lost at home to NYCFC once in nine previous meetings at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with that NYCFC away win coming on Decision Day 2022 when Héber and Gabriel Pereira scored the goals.
