ATLANTA UNITED FC vs. MINNESOTA UNITED FC
Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Atlanta, Georgia
10.03.17 | MLS Week #31 | MLS Game #31
6:00 p.m. CT (FOX 9+, MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN)

2017 Records:
MIN: 9-16-5; 2-10-2 on the road
ATL: 15-8-8; 11-2-2 at home

Much has changed for Minnesota United FC since last the side faced fellow expansion club Atlanta United FC in their home opener. That match was played in the middle of a blizzard in front of more than 35,000 raucous fans, but on the day it was clear that the Loons had a long way to go. With nearly an entire season of growth under their belts, the Loons will be looking to even the score in Atlanta on Tuesday in a match that kicks off at 6:00 p.m. CT with pre-match coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m. on FOX 9+ and MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN.

There’s no sense in sugarcoating it: Minnesota United looked abysmal in its first two matches this season. But after starting on a pace that would have made it the worst expansion team in MLS history, MNUFC has exceeded the lowly expectations of many to claim victories against top-tier squads including Sporting Kansas City, Portland Timbers FC and the Chicago Fire.

This is a very different squad than the one Atlanta last faced. For context, Jerome Thiesson — currently the minutes leader on the season for MNUFC — was playing his first match in an MNUFC kit against Atlanta and he had arrived in the country barely 48 hours prior to kickoff. Ibson — a major cog and one of the most valuable players on the team — didn’t play. Trades and signings throughout the season have brought on important pieces like midfielders Ethan Finlay and Sam Cronin, and defenders Marc Burch and Michael Boxall. In all, the story of this season has been one of evolution and growth.

“If you look at the team from the first game against Atlanta, to this team now, it’s probably eight or nine changes from that team,” said Head Coach Adrian Heath. “Now, you know, you don’t have to be Einstein to work out that we are going to have to try and change a lot of things around in the summer. The way that we finish will determine who’s here and who’s not here next year. But we still got a lot to play for.”

Atlanta will provide stiff competition, though, as MNUFC hunts for its tenth win on the season. Although the home team will be missing forward Miguel Almiron with a hamstring issue, Atlanta United is undefeated at home since opening Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a 3-0 thrashing of FC Dallas on September 10 and a 7-0 drubbing of the New England Revolution three days later. Couple their excellent performance at home with record-setting attendance and you have the recipe for a rugged environment for visiting teams to come into.

In addition to Almiron, Atlanta will also be missing forward Josef Martinez, who will be away on international duty for Venezuela, and goalkeeper Brad Guzan, away for the U.S. But the Loons won’t be expecting an easy go of it, especially given the nascent rivalry between the two clubs. While geographically unrelated, two clubs that come into the league together are always going to be connected — a thing Heath learned when he was with Orlando City.

“We had it in Orlando with New York City,” he said. “We’re two different clubs at this moment in time, though. You know, they’ve gone and spent $30 million on players, etc. They bought really, really good, exciting young pieces. And they’re very good players. But, you know, for us? Can we go against one of the best teams in the league? I was really disappointed Saturday [against Houston] because I thought it was an opportunity for us, and we started really well in terms of possession, but our forward play wasn’t good enough. And we’ll have to be a lot better tomorrow, because our three previous away performances were very good.”

Following the tussle in Atlanta, MNUFC heads back to the Twin Cities for its final home match of the regular season against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, October 7. The team will be celebrating Fan Appreciation Day with fan tribute videos, a post-match fireworks display and much more. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. with pre-match coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. on FOX 9+ and MNUFC Radio on 1500 ESPN.

INJURY REPORT

Minnesota United
OUT:
M – Bernardo Anor (left lower leg injury)
M/D – Thomas de Villardi (left Achilles injury)
M – Sam Cronin (head injury)

QUESTIONABLE:
D – Marc Burch (left thigh)

Atlanta United
OUT: 
GK – Alec Kann (quad injury)
M – Miguel Almiron (left hamstring injury)

DISCIPLINARY REPORT
-none-
FIRST TOUCHES

• Atlanta United midfielder Harrison Heath is the son of Minnesota United FC Head Coach Adrian Heath.
• Goalkeeper Alex Kapp was drafted by Atlanta in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.
• Michael Parkhurst, Ethan Finlay and Bernardo Anor were all teammates on Columbus Crew SC in 2014. Parkhurst and Finlay stayed at Crew SC from 2015 through 2016.
• Kenwyne Jones and Kevin Molino are teammates on the Trinidad and Tobago national team.
• Mikey Ambrose was a teammate of Molino’s last year with Orlando City SC.
• Jeff Larentowicz and Bobby Shuttleworth played together on New England Revolution in 2009.
• This match was originally scheduled to be played on August 13, but was later postponed due to construction delays at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
• Minnesota is 4-5-1 against Eastern Conference opponents this season. It is 3-0-1 in its past four matches against teams from the East, with 10 goals for and four against.
• Atlanta became the fourth expansion team in MLS history to qualify for the playoffs in its inaugural season this year. The last team to accomplish this feat was 2009 Seattle Sounders FC, who finished third in the West, but was bounced from the playoffs in the Conference Semifinals.
• Sam Nicholson scored his first goal in MLS in the 2-1 loss vs. Houston. Nicholson’s goal was only Minnesota’s fourth goal from outside of the penalty area.
• Christian Ramirez remains one of the most accurate shooters in MLS, with a 54.5 shots on goal percentage.
• Atlanta has lost just once in its past 15 matches.
• Only four MNUFC players who have started in the past three matches (Christian Ramirez, Kevin Molino, Jerome Thiesson and Francisco Calvo) started in the team’s last meeting with Atlanta.
• Calvo logged his first MLS assist on Saturday when he set up Nicholson’s stoppage-time goal.