Atlanta United vs. Sporting Kansas City, full-time: Red card dooms Atlanta

Full-time - That’s that. A red card. Two goals conceded. Atlanta suffers their first loss in over two months.

87’ - The guests extend their lead to 2-0 through Gerso Fernandez.

67’ - Sporting Kansas City finally make the most of their man advantage. Daniel Salloi strikes with a great curling effort from outside of the box.

Half-time - Atlanta make it to the half at 0-0. It’s been all Sporting since Guzan’s sending off. This one is likely to be one-sided in the second half. Tata Martino has a tall task ahead of him if his team is to get out of this with a result.

35’ - Not an ideal first half for Atlanta United as Brad Guzan has been shown a red card for a DOGSO challenge on Khiry Shelton. With Mitch Hildebrandt and Alec Kann unavailable, Paul Christensen comes in for Tito Villalba. The Five Stripes will have to try and pull out a result down a man.

Pre-game: The top two teams in Major League Soccer face-off tonight at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. East-leading Atlanta United host West leaders, Sporting Kansas City in what promises to be an intense match.

Both teams are flying high coming into the match with the two combining for a total of only three losses so far this season. The Five Stripes are riding an impressive eight-match unbeaten run, while Sporting are coming off of a 1-0 away win against the Colorado Rapids.

Franco Escobar and Chris McCann are Atlanta’s only injury concerns heading into this one. Escobar is listed as questionable after again colliding with Brad Guzan in the win against Chicago. Thankfully, it’s not his head again and he shouldn’t miss too much time, if any at all. Meanwhile, Sporting were dealt a huge blow last week when Felipe Gutiérrez was ruled out for 2-3 months after undergoing surgery for a sports hernia.

This should be a fantastic match between two of the best teams in the league. Can Atlanta continue to pad their lead atop the East and Supporters’ Shield standings? Let’s find out...

Note: We’re trying something new with our match threads this year. We’ll be updating the post with updates of goals and big moments as they happen. Check back every so often during the match for highlights and commentary.

Atlanta United’s Lineup:

Sporting Kansas City’s Lineup:

TBA

How to Watch

Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Kickoff Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Available TV: FOX Sports South

Available Streaming: fuboTV (free trial), FOX Sports GO, ESPN+ (Outside Local Viewing Area)

Available Radio: 92.9 The Game (English), AT&T Countdown to Kickoff (FB Live/Periscope), La Mejor 1600 AM (Spanish)

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