Just one more home match remains for Atlanta United before the Summer of Soccer and international competition. The 5-Stripes stay in the A to host LA Galaxy Saturday, May 8.
The 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff will see an Atlanta team growing in attacking confidence and going for its fourth consecutive win. They'll face a Western Conference opponent with plenty of dangerous attacking options themselves. Saturday night will also see Atlanta United and LA Galaxy's Unified teams meet for their season opener.
Almirón still questionable on availability report
Atlanta United's number 10 Miguel Almirón continues to be listed as questionable with knee irritation. The Paraguayan forward has been out of the team since coming off in the club's April 15 match in the U.S. Open Cup. Martino provided an update to media Friday.
"Today Miguel trained inside, trained individually and trained with the group," Martino said in Spanish after training Friday. "He’s day-to-day. We’re monitoring him and we’re seeing if its best for him to play him this weekend or wait another week."
The rest of the report has a couple of changes. Sergio Santos returns to match eligibility after missing time with a calf issue. Ronald Hernández is an addition with an abdominal injury, and he's listed as questionable. Steven Alzate continues to nurse his adductor.
Player |
Injury |
Status |
Miguel Almirón |
Knee |
Questionable |
Steven Alzate |
Adductor |
Out |
Ronald Hernández |
Abdomen |
Questionable |
Key components in the turnaround
It’s been a top-to-bottom effort from the 5-Stripes to build up a string of good performances, but there have certainly been standouts.
Alexey Miranchuk is one of them. The forward has enjoyed a great run of form alongside the team, and his importance is coming to the forefront. Miranchuk’s 7 goal contributions in MLS play lead the 5-Stripes, and he’s coming off a brace of assists against CF Montréal.
“He’s taking on more responsibility, he’s talking to people more and he’s scored," Stian Gregersen said Friday. "He’s very fantastic, and it’s good because now people are seeing more who Alexey Miranchuk is."
The production is evidence of a heightened tactical understanding and synergy on the pitch, but Miranchuk’s value as a leader comes off the pitch as well. Well-known to be on the more soft-spoken side, the designated player is challenging himself to be a more vocal leader.
“I start to push myself to say something in the locker room,” Miranchuk said Wednesday. “Just to give the courage to the players. [It’s] not only me, but a lot of players speak.”
Martino is seeing it just as well, but to El Profe, Miranchuk’s blossoming is not at all a surprise. It’s what he and his staff have forecasted.
“Alexey is taking on responsibility,” Martino said. “He’s someone who very involved in the function of the team with his incidence and impact on the team. He’s taking on the responsibility that we expected.”
Behind Miranchuk, Cooper Sanchez has been another huge bright spot. The 18-year-old will be a critical piece for the 5-Stripes for the rest of the season and has already made some serious strides since signing his First Team contract in August of 2025.
The midfielder recently spoke on his path to being a consistent starter in his 17 Questions interview, and Martino is the first of a long list of people to give him praise for his form.
“What I see from him and his qualities, usually you don’t see them from players this young,” Martino said. “His maturity you would expect it from players who are 20 years or older. He has all the characteristics we like in a midfielder, but again he’s doing it at 17 and 18 years old and that’s what’s notable.”
How to keep the good times rolling
In the middle of their first win streak of the season, Atlanta United's goals are just the same as before the results came. Martino and his squad have never claimed to want to reinvent their tactics, and now that things are clicking, they're going to continue playing the way they want to: possession, pressing, attacking football.
“It’s really important that we stay level-headed,” Matt Edwards said. “Even if we don’t win, we’re not too bad on ourselves, and if we win, we’re not too happy.”
In Galaxy, the 5-Stripes encounter an unfamiliar but historic adversary. LA have the most MLS Cup wins in league history with six, with their most recent coming in 2024. Recently, though, Galaxy have hovering around the middle of the pack. The visitors Saturday night will come into the match just outside the playoff picture in 10th place.
Still, Atlanta United’s focus doesn’t diminish. Martino called out a few of LA’s attacking options by name Friday, challenging his side to be disciplined.
"They have attacking players who are very dynamic and can unbalance opponents with players such as [Gabriel] Pec, [Joseph] Paintsil, and [Lucas] Sanabria," Martino said. "Those are players we’re going to have to neutralize because they can cause damage to opponents."
Then, you throw in players with European pedigree like Marco Reus, and Atlanta United’s defense will have to be on top of things come Saturday night. Edwards, who spoke to media Wednesday, shed light on how the 5-Stripes can keep their cool and not get ahead of themselves.
“Each game is different, but they all require a strong mentality," Edwards said. "That's one thing that we can control."
