Atlanta United: 5 key players to watch during double matchweek

Atlanta United have another busy week coming up, this time on the road against the Vancouver Whitecaps and New York Red Bulls. See which five players are key to watch.

Atlanta United is coming off a three-game-in-seven-day span that resulted in a perfect nine points. Their reward? Another three-game-in-seven-day span. Only this time, a lot more travel is required. In these seven days, Atlanta will have faced Orlando at home (a 1-0 win), Vancouver on the road, and the New York Red Bulls on the road. The Five Stripes are off to a good start with a win against Orlando, but the real test awaits.

The biggest news for this week’s matches came when head coach Frank de Boer announced that both Michael Parkhurst and Darlington Nagbe will not travel with the team to Vancouver. For Parkhurst, the decision makes perfect sense. The 35-year-old defender is seeing a lot of time at left-back, which is a position that requires a lot more fitness than playing centrally. He can use the rest since he’s older and in a different position.

For Nagbe, this decision may require more insight. Leaving Nagbe behind may give us an idea as to what de Boer hopes to achieve tactically against the New York Red Bulls on Sunday. The Red Bulls are always a physical out and will most likely try to press Atlanta. Under this assumption, it’s clear how important Nagbe’s role in the midfield will be. His calming presence on the ball in possession will go a long way in just how well Atlanta performs at Red Bull Arena.

With that in mind, here are five key players to watch this week against Vancouver and the Red Bulls.

5. Hector Villalba

Hector Villalba is fresh off a solid week that saw a goal against Toronto, an assist against Orlando, and an appearance in the MLS Team of the Week. He was a big contributor in an important week for the Five Stripes. His performance was even more impressive when realizing he slotted in for Ezequiel Barco, who has led the way so far this season in total production (goals/assists).

Despite his strong first season with Atlanta, Villalba sort of fell by the wayside in 2018, often dealing with injuries, losing playing time as a result. While he is fully fit this season, Atlanta has a plethora of talented attacking players so Villalba is not always guaranteed to start. But with Barco now at the U20 World Cup, Villalba is already seeing a lot more time on the pitch.

One of the results of all that playing time is fatigue. With so much travel this week, and so many minutes already logged, it is important to ask how much de Boer will use Villalba on the road. By leaving key players behind, de Boer is showing his willingness to rotate his squad. Because of this rotation, I expect to see Andrew Carleton get some minutes.

Last week I mentioned that Carleton may get some time with the first team. Although it didn’t happen last week, it may finally happen during this week’s busy stretch. He may take up Villalba’s place on the pitch depending on the scenario in game, so it is worth watching Villalba and how he performs this week.