The opening match in the second edition of the Leagues Cup will come from the Mercedes-Benz Stadium where Atlanta United will play host to DC United on Saturday.
In the competition that now features all 47 clubs from Canada, Mexico and the United States, these two sides will make up Group K along with Liga MX outfit Club Santos Laguna.
Match preview
The Leagues Cup 2024, which is taking place in the United States and Canada, will determine three qualifiers for the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup, offering them a chance to secure a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Atlanta United will enter the second edition of the Leagues Cup aiming for a better performance than they managed last year when they were knocked out in the group stage after finishing behind Inter Miami and Cruz Azul.
The Five Stripes are carrying solid momentum, though, having taken four points from their last two home games, playing out a 2-2 draw with New York City last week and coming from behind to beat league champions Columbus Crew over the weekend.
Against Crew, centre-back Stian Gregersen scored his first goal for Atlanta and went on to pick up the first two-goal match of his career, scoring in the 60th and 76th minutes, both from set pieces, to take his side to 28 points and ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Atlanta have scored two or more goals in each of their four home matches under the guidance of Rob Valentino, and the new boss is yet to taste defeat at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the MLS since arriving at the start of June.
Meanwhile, DC United came second in their Leagues Cup group which featured Pumas UNAM and Montreal last season, but saw their journey in the competition end in the round of 32 where they were beaten 5-4 on penalties by Philadelphia Union.
The Black-and-Red played a friendly against Scottish Premiership champions Celtic last weekend, which the club dedicated to its captain and stalwart centre-back Steven Birnbaum, who called an end to his 11-year stint with the capital club.
Prior to that victory, Troy Lesesne's side pulled off a dramatic late comeback to beat Minnesota United 3-2 on the road, led by Christian Benteke, who scored the winner in stoppage time, assisted Aaron Herrera's equaliser just one minute earlier, and also netted the game's opening goal in the 14th minute.
The Belgian is having another impressive season in MLS, currently on 16 goals and four assists in 21 games, just one goal behind Cristian Arango for the 2024 Golden Boot. He was also selected to participate in the MLS All-Star game on Wednesday night.
These two sides have faced off twice this season already and have won one match apiece. Notably, though, both victories were for the side playing on the road.
Team News
Atlanta United will play their first match without academy graduate Caleb Wiley, whose transfer to Premier League giants Chelsea was completed earlier this week. Thiago Almada has also departed the MLS, making the move to South America to join Botafogo.
Noah Cobb is currently away with the United States Men's National Team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, while Edwin Mosquera (knee) and Jamal Thiare (shoulder) are injury doubts.
The visitors are also missing a few important players, including midfield duo Jacob Murrell and Conner Antley, who have been ruled out of action until next month due to a head and knee injury respectively.
Benteke and Herrera are the only two players in this match who will feature in the MLS All-Star game in midweek and should return to make the starting 11 this weekend, while Russell Canouse is still out due to personal reasons.
Atlanta United possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Lennon, Gregersen, Williams, Hernandez; Slisz, Fortune, Muyumba; Silva, Thiare, Rios
DC United possible starting lineup:
Bono; Herrera, Peltola, McVey; Dajome, Santos, Klich, Rodriguez, Stroud, Ku-DiPietro; Benteke
We say: Atlanta United 1-1 DC United (Atlanta United win on penalties)
Both these sides are very well-matched and enter this match following impressive comeback victories in the league. We feel there will be nothing to separate them at the final whistle but fancy the hosts to edge the result on penalties.
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