Predicting Atlanta United’s lineup at the Seattle Sounders

Atlanta United has been forced to make some tough decisions for its lineup. On one hand, today’s match against the Seattle Sounders is important because Atlanta enter today with three games in hand against the Philadelphia Union, who were drilled 4-0 at Real Salt Lake. On the other hand, it’s just coming off a U.S. Open Cup match against Saint Louis FC and has another match at home on Wednesday against the Houston Dynamo. That’s not to mention the fact that it hosts D.C. United on July 21 and visits LAFC on July 26.

So who will Frank de Boer field today? He won’t have Jeff Larentowicz (due to a red card) and Florentin Pogba (thigh injury sustained against the Red Bulls). Julian Gressel played only a few minutes on Wednesday and Michael Parkhurst didn’t play at all - however, while de Boer’s decision to hold Gressel out as long as he did on Wednesday was done with an eye toward starting him today, I don’t know if Parkhurst gets the call and likely would spell Brek Shea in the latter stages (especially if Atlanta are trying to defend a lead).

Quick note: Gordon Wild is with the team in Seattle. Might we see him make his MLS debut?

Let me know what you think in the comments.