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Barring some sort of stars-aligning miracle, tonight brings to a close Atlanta United’s trip to the bubble in a first vs. last matchup with the Columbus Crew. The Crew have walked through Group E so far, taking care of Cincinnati and New York Red Bulls by a combined score of 6-0, earning a spot in the Knockout Round before the end of the group stage. Meanwhile, Atlanta has failed to find any sort of foothold in the group, and after the frustrating performance against FC Cincinnati, it’s a little harder to care about this game than others.
However, with the team still mathematically alive and the matches still counting towards regular season standings, there’s still good reason for the players to perform and fans to tune in. On top of that, if this really is Atlanta’s curtain call, this will be the last time to see the Five Stripes in action for nearly a month as the tournament plays out to its final. And hey, even if everything does fall apart, at least we’ll see our favorite formerly striped center mid tearing it up again.
With nothing to lose and no goals scored in group play thus far, does de Boer become more flexible with his tactics? Can the defense remain firm against the Zardes-Zelarayan-Nagbe creative threat? Will the squad be able to bounce back from the morale black hole that was the previous match?
We’ll get the morning off this time, so check out the Q&A with the Crew blog, Massive Report, and lineup prediction as we wait for this evening’s match. Then join us in the match thread as we see how Atlanta’s final group stage match plays out.
Atlanta United’s Lineup:
#ATLUTD’s Starting XI vs Columbus Crew pic.twitter.com/cwxiSShM0Y
— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) July 21, 2020
Columbus Crew SC’s Lineup:
#Crew96’s lineup against #ATLUTD tonight. #MLSisBack pic.twitter.com/zi9vDCFtxh
— Massive Report (@MassiveReport) July 21, 2020
How to Watch:
Venue: ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, Orlando, Florida
Kickoff Time: Tuesday, July 21th; 8:00 PM EST
Available TV: ESPN2, TUDN
Available Streaming: ESPN App, Fubo TV (Free Trial)
Available Radio: 92.9 The Game, La Mejor 1600 AM
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