Predicting Atlanta United’s starting lineup against Montreal Impact

The good news about Atlanta United’s quick turnaround from Wednesday’s loss at Toronto FC to today’s match against the Montreal Impact is that it gives it a chance to get right back out on the pitch and get a winning result in front of its home fans. The congested schedule will soon truly manifest itself later on, but today, its first match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 4 weeks, should be a motivating factor.

One thing was obvious from Wednesday: the club was missing Franco Escobar in a big way as he served a suspension for yellow card accumulation. He will be back in the lineup today - here’s how I think the full XI will shake out:

Like I said earlier, I don’t think we see a ton of rotation just yet with the club still relatively fresh after an 8-day break between matches before Wednesday. The big change is obviously Escobar back in the lineup at RWB, which forced Frank de Boer to play Michael Parkhurst at that slot on Wednesday and start Brek Shea at LWB. I think Parkhurst starts on the left this evening, but Escobar’s return means that a chunk of play will be on his end.

What are your thoughts? Do you think we see Mikey Ambrose on the left instead in what would be his first MLS start of the year? Any other changes you forsee? Let me know in the comments.