UPDATE: Creating an Atlanta United starting XI on FIFA 17, including Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, Tyrone Mears and Anton Walkes

A couple weeks ago, I showed you guys how to create an Atlanta United starting XI on FIFA 17. With the addition of Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, Tyrone Mears and Anton Walkes to the club, it’s time to update the squad.

Here are the sixteen Atlanta United signees that are available on FIFA 17, as well as the clubs they can be found playing for in the game(as of January 26th):

Goalkeepers: Alec Kann - Sporting Kansas City

Defenders: Michael Parkhurst - Columbus Crew, Zach Loyd - FC Dallas, Mark Bloom - Toronto FC, Mikey Ambrose - Orlando City, Greg Garza - Club Tijuana, Tyrone Mears - Seattle Sounders, Leandro Gonzalez Pirez - Estudiantes de La Plata, Anton Walkes - Tottenham Hotspur

Midfielders: Chris McCann - Coventry City, Tito Villalba - Club Tijuana, Miguel Almiron - Lanus, Harrison Heath - Orlando City, Jeff Larentowicz - Los Angeles Galaxy, Jacob Peterson - Sporting Kansas City, Yamil Asad - Velez Sarsfield

Forwards: N/A

Just to refresh everyone’s memory, here is the previous Starting XI I had:

Pirez and Mears both have solid ratings in FIFA 17, with a 72 and 70 respectively. That’s enough for each of them to earn a starting spot. Mears is a direct replacement for Mark Bloom, that’s simple enough. The question then becomes which center back, Michael Parkhurst or Zach Loyd, do we replace with Pirez?

There are two schools of thought to consider when making this decision. Are you someone that is looking for a Starting XI that’s realistic to what Atlanta United will actually put on the pitch this coming season? If so, you’ll want to replace Loyd with Pirez. However, when playing FIFA 17, all I personally care about are ratings. Parkhurst’s rating is 68, while Loyd’s is 69. It’s a small difference, but Parkhurst will now be a good option off the bench.

Walkes’ rating is a 56. Obviously, his in-game rating is not a direct reflection of his actual ability. FIFA 17 tends to not be very kind when it comes to the ratings of academy players, regardless of how big the club they play for is. With that being said, starting Walkes in FIFA 17 probably isn’t the best idea, so he’ll join Parkhurst on the sideline.

With the current crop of players available to us, here is the updated Starting XI I would go with:

Since we only switched out a couple defenders, no need for a change in formation.

Keep in mind that Brad Guzan, who is heading to Atlanta United in the summer, is not included as a member of the club yet. Therefore, Alec Kann is still our guy at the moment.

Michael Parkhurst, Mark Bloom, Anton Walkes, Mikey Ambrose and Harrison Heath are the five players available to come off the bench for Atlanta United.

Here are the twelve Atlanta United signees that are currently unavailable in FIFA 17:

Goalkeepers: Alexander Tambakis, Alex Kapp

Defenders: Miles Robinson

Midfielders: Andrew Carleton, Chris Goslin, Kevin Kratz, Julian Gressell, Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu

Forwards: Jeffrey Otoo, Kenwyne Jones, Brandon Vazquez, Romario Williams

I’ll continue to update the Starting XI as more players sign with the greatest club in the world.