Atlanta United: 3 things to watch this week – Crunch time

Atlanta United begin a stretch of five games in 18 days to close out their 2019 season. With two games this week, see what to watch for.

Atlanta United travel to FC Cincinnati for a midweek showdown on Wednesday night before returning home to face the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday afternoon. After losing consecutive matches, the Five Stripes will look to rebound with a road win against the worst team in the league and a home win against an improved but struggling San Jose team.

After their loss to Columbus at home this past weekend, Atlanta’s chances of securing home-field advantage in the playoffs look extremely slim. The team did secure a playoff berth despite the loss, but they are now closer to D.C. United in fourth than they are New York City FC in first. A six-point week would go a long way in helping Atlanta’s fight for home-field advantage.

Atlanta will face Cincinnati first. The two teams met earlier this season for Atlanta’s home opener. That game ended in a 1-1 draw. The performance was so dismal that Atlanta fans booed their squad off the field. Many things have changed since then, with Atlanta winning two trophies and fighting their way to the top of the table and Cincinnati falling fast and hard to the bottom, so you would expect the return fixture to go a little differently. Nevertheless, anything less than a win for Atlanta would be a travesty.

Saturday’s home match features a feisty and difficult San Jose. These teams met last year in September at Avaya Stadium in a 4-3, late-night thriller. Both clubs have new coaches, with Atlanta’s style of play going through various changes but remaining similar to last year’s and San Jose going through a hard reboot under Matias Almeyda, but with playoff places on the line for both teams, it is set to be a rip-roarer of a contest.

See what to watch for as Atlanta United look to finish their season strong.

3. Winning is the standard

Atlanta United demand a winning culture. They want one thing, and one thing only: trophies. So far, through nearly three seasons, the club has three trophies. If they want a fourth, they need to get their act together in the closing weeks of the season. That starts with securing the highest seed possible in the Eastern Conference.

With back-to-back losses to Philadelphia and Columbus, the team is starting to slide down the table. The Five Stripes were once in the driver’s seat to claim the top seed and home-field advantage throughout the MLS Cup playoffs, but they might have to settle for the second or third seed instead. Their quest for the top seed begins with Wednesday night’s match.

Anything less than a win against Cincinnati is unacceptable, especially with the March 10th result between these teams. A draw at the time looked suboptimal, but now with hindsight, dropping points at home to Cincinnati seems even worse. They are on pace to be one of the worst MLS teams ever, so if Atlanta can’t beat them on Wednesday night, they might as well give up in their chase of the top seed in the East.

Even against San Jose, who have given many teams fits this season, Atlanta must strive for three points. The players shipped a woeful performance against a Columbus side that is virtually out of the playoffs. Atlanta fans won’t let their team hear the end of it if the players can’t rebound from such a disappointing result in front of their home fans.

With a culture like Atlanta’s, winning is the standard. Anything less is unacceptable. A draw or loss in either of this week’s matches will leave a lot of questions from those watching.