Philadelphia Union will continue to push in an attempt to win the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference this weekend when they travel to face Atlanta United.

Both teams have plenty to play for, though; the visitors sit just outside of the playoff positions right now, and a victory could be enough to lift them into the post-season places.

Match preview

Atlanta United head into this match on the back of a midweek victory against Orlando City in what was a closely contested match that finished 1-0 following a goal from Thiago Almada.

The victory puts them just two points away from a playoff position, and that is something that the hosts will be confident of achieving.

However, these two teams only just played each other at the start of the month in a game that saw Philadelphia Union secure a comfortable victory.

That match finished 4-1, despite the fact that it was close at the interval with the teams going into half time at 2-1, and that is a result Atlanta United will want to avenge.

With two consecutive victories behind them heading into this one, though, there should be no shortage of confidence within the squad.

The visitors have been incredibly dominant throughout this campaign, losing only four times in the MLS, although they will be aware all of those defeats happened on the road.

That is something they shall be keen to avoid, and Philadelphia Union's recent performances would showcase that there is a good chance that could be the case.

No team has scored more goals than them this season, and even though their opponents kept a clean sheet in their most recent outing, Jim Curtin's men scored five times in their previous match.

The U defeated Orlando City 5-1 in midweek, which was a game that saw two own goals and a trio of different goalscorers for Philadelphia.

A victory would allow Philadelphia to keep their place at the top of the table, and with just three games to go for them after this, that is a prize they will be desperately trying to hold onto.

Team News

Almada is likely to retain his place in the midfield for the hosts this weekend after scoring the winner against Orlando City in midweek.

However, Osvaldo Alonso is still going to remain on the sidelines due to a torn ACL which has ended his season, while Emerson Hyndman is also out injured due to a quad strain.

Coming off the back of an impressive 5-1 victory, the chances are that the visitors will not make any changes to the starting XI in this game.

Quinn Sullivan could be an option to push into the team though after coming off the bench against Orlando City, but only if Curtin wants to reshuffle the pack.

Atlanta United possible starting lineup:
Gudino; Hernandez, Sanchez, Franco, Gutman; Almada, Sosa, Sejdic; Lennon, Araujo, Dwyer

Philadelphia Union possible starting lineup:
Blake; Wagner, Elliott, Glesnes, Mbaizo; Bedoya, Martinez, Flach, Gazdag; Carranza, Uhre

We say: Atlanta United 1-2 Philadelphia Union

This is sure to be a competitive encounter between two teams in fine form who have got a lot to play for towards the end of the season.

However, Philadelphia Union's ability in front of goal is something that could prove to be the difference maker in this particular match.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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