“I think the team is right where it needs to be and I think we should be going into each game with confidence because the team’s in a good way whether we have a bout of flu or illnesses in camp or whether we pick up an injury, we’ve shown we have guys who can come in and take the baton and move on.” – Philadelphia Union Head Coach, Bradley Carnell
After a narrow 1-0 loss to NYCFC last weekend in Queens, Bradley Carnell’s Philadelphia Union will look to get back in the win column on Saturday night for the first time since March 22nd as Major League Soccer’s record signing Emmanuel Latte Lath and Atlanta United visit Subaru Park.
Saturday’s match at home is the second at Subaru Park in April and comes just before the schedule gets congested with travel, midweek matches, and the US Open Cup. This gives the Union an opportunity to bank some points at home before a difficult stretch against Ronny Deila and a struggling Atlanta United.
How to watch Union vs Atlanta United
When: Saturday, April 19th @ 7:30 pm
Where: Subaru Park – Chester, PA
Where to Watch: MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+
Philadelphia Union vs Orlando City SC Betting Odds
Philadelphia Union: +100
Atlanta United: +230
Draw: +260
Preview By The Numbers
| Current Form – Last 5 Games | Philadelphia Union: L, W, L, D, L | Atlanta United: L, D, W, D, L |
| Expected Goals: | Philadelphia:16.87 xG (5th best) | Atlanta United: 14.92 xG (10th best) |
| Total Goals Scored: | Philadelphia Union: 13 goals scored (T-5th best) | Atlanta United: 11 goals scored (7th best) |
| Expected Conceded Goals: | Philadelphia: 9.6 xGA (T-8th best) | Atlanta United: 11.2 xGA (13th best) |
| Goals Conceded: | Philadelphia Union: 9 goals conceded (T-4th best) | Atlanta United: 13 goals conceded (T-4th worst) |
| Top Goal-Scorers: | Philadelphia: Baribo – 6, Lukić – 2, Damiani, Uhre, Glavinovich – 1 | Atlanta United: Latte Lath – 5, Almiron – 2, Miranchuk, Mosquera – 1 |
| Top Assists Leaders: | Philadelphia Union: Wagner, Sullivan – 4, Westfield – 2, Bedoya, Donovan, Vassilev – 1 | Atlanta United : Lobjanidze – 3, Almiron – 2, Latte Lath, Silva, Lennon, Togashi – 1 |
Head To Head
In 17 total meetings between the Union and Atlanta United, each team has come out with 5 wins and 7 draws. In the last 5 meetings between the 2 Eastern Conference teams, there’s been 1 win for the Union, 1 win for Atlanta United, and 3 draws, showing how evenly matched these two teams have been in recent years. Over a 10-game span, however, Union has the edge over Atlanta, losing just once during that span and amassing a record of 4W-5D-1L while outscoring their opponents by a total of 17 to 11.
Josef Martinez’s 7 goals make him the leading scorer all-time in games played between the Union and Atlanta, with Mikael Uhre holding that title among active players with 3.
“I look at perspective. If we roll back to the 9th of January or whenever we went into camp, there wasn’t much optimism in the outside world, on the inside world, and through a collective approach and a change of fresh air, or new dynamics, new situation, new game models or what have you, we come out of the gates flying and we rack up points pretty quickly and we score goals at free rights.” – Bradley Carnell
Atlanta United’s Season So Far
Despite splashing lots of cash in the off-season, things haven’t quite clicked for Ronny Deila and Atlanta United. They came into Saturday’s match with a record of just 2W-3D-3L for a total of 9 points, which has them in 11th place and below the playoff line heading into the weekend.
After starting the 2025 season off on a high note with a 3-2 win against Montreal, Atlanta failed to win in its next four games and has failed to win in the three games following its last win against NYCFC at the end of March.
“I’ve told the team, this is not about any opponent that comes to our building, we’re having our own standards and we feel a certain way about a certain run of form and games as well, so this is us about us despite the opponent” – Bradley Carnell
Atlanta United’s Predicted Starting XI
It looks like Ronny Delia lines his Atlanta team up in a 4-2-3-1 with a star-studded attack that’s hoping to finally click on all cylinders any day now. Here’s my best guess at how they line up:
Formation: 4-2-3-1
GK: Guzan
RB: Lennon, CB: Gregersen, CB: Abram, LB: Edwards
CDM: Slisz, CDM: Muyumba
CAM: Saba, CAM: Almiron, CAM: Xande Silva
ST: Latte Lath
“Star-studded lineup, right? They spend a lot of money, year in and year out, and they earn respect based off of the names on the back of their jerseys. It’s a little bit like Inter Miami, it’s a little bit like Orlando, they spend a lot of money, and they are a competitive powerhouse in the league. We have to approach the game with caution, they have some game changers for sure, they’re very threatening in their transitions, they have high quality in their attack through possession phases. – Bradley Carnell on Atlanta United
It’s danger, that’s what I think of them when they come to town. It’s a game where every week we speak about DP’s and high-talent players – [Emmanuel] Latte Lath, 5 goals on the season – so we’re going to have our hands full, it’s going to take 11 guys on the field collectively to play together and win at home” – Bradley Carnell on Atlanta United
Philadelphia Union Predicted Starting XI
Bradley Carnell met with the media on Thursday and gave some injury updates. Andre Blake looks to be day-to-day and will be evaluated further on Friday morning. Jesus Bueno, who has a slight hamstring problem, looks to also be day-to-day for Saturday’s match. Olivier Mbaizo and Ian Glavinovich, though he seems to be healing well and ahead of schedule, will be out against Atlanta United.
“Yeah, Dre [Andre Blake] is feeling better, he’s day-to-day, and we’ll make a full evaluation tomorrow [Friday] morning to see if he can go to training and be with the group outside, and then we’ll go from there. Jesus Bueno had a slight hamstring tension, I would say, over the last couple of days, and we decided to keep him out. he might have a minor strain, so he’s out potentially, so we’re just assessing him day-to-day as well. And then Ian [Glavinovich] is progressing as expected, actually ahead of expected, he’s doing really well, which is good to see, he’s off the crutches, he’s walking, feeling, and just doing his now rehabilitation process. – Bradley Carnell on Goalkeeper Andre Blake
[Olivier Mbaizo] Getting much better, every day he’s on the treatment table, he’s been out on the field a little bit, just slowly moving around, I see him progressing, but I don’t see him being available for this weekend. – Bradley Carnell on Defender Oliver Mbaizo
Here’s how I think that leaves Union on Saturday night at home against Atlanta
Formation: 4-2-2-2
GK: Andrew Rick
RB: Frankie Westfield, CB: Jakob Glesnes, CB: Olwethu Makhanya, LB: Nathan Harriel
CDM: Danley Jean-Jacques, CDM: Jovan Lukic
CAM: Quinn Sullivan, CAM: Indiana Vassilev
ST: Bruno Damiani, ST: Tai Baribo
“I think it’s the standard we set on ourselves just in terms of the 4 walls and the pressure we put on ourselves, but then I look at the log and not that I’m comfortable being where we are, but I put all these things into perspective and I think it’s a pretty fair shake where we are currently, and I think we’ve earned where we needed to be, we’ve won the games we’ve had to win, and we’ve been competitive in every game I would say” – Bradley Carnell
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