Match Preview: Atlanta United hosts San Jose Earthquakes in MLS home opener

Quick Hits

• The match is the MLS opener for both squads. It’s the second time in Atlanta United’s seven-year history that they’ve opened the MLS season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
• Goalkeeper Brad Guzan and center back Miles Robinson will be looking to play their first MLS match since suffering season-ending injuries and missing a bulk of the 2022 season.
• Luiz Araújo scored six goals in preseason – and he’s hungry to keep scoring. The latest Training Notebook.
• The two clubs meet for just the fourth time in MLS regular season history. San Jose will start the regular season on the road for just the third time in their last 15 seasons.
• Striker Giorgos Giakoumakis will be unavailable for Atlanta. See who's in and who's out in the weekly availability report presented by Piedmont.

Match Details

• Date: Saturday, Feb. 25
• Kickoff time: 7:30 p.m.
• Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
• Tickets: View tickets
• Theme: Atlanta United's 2023 MLS regular season opener

Are you coming to the match? Check out our detailed timeline and things to do before the match.

How to watch, listen and live stream Atlanta United vs. San Jose Earthquakes

• TV: Watch for FREE on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
• Listen: Local radio 92.9 The Game and La Mejor
• Live stream: Watch on your phone or device by subscribing to MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app or visit https://tv.apple.com/

Click here to watch the video to learn how to sign up for MLS Season Pass

Recent Form

Both teams closed out the 2022 regular season without qualifying for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. Atlanta United finished 11th in the Eastern Conference (10-14-10) with 40 points. The Quakes made a midseason coaching change, hiring Luchi Gonzalez in August, and finished up 14th in the West (8-15-11) with 35 points.

Last Meeting

The two sides have met three times in MLS history. Atlanta United has won all three matchups.

The last meeting was on September 21, 2019 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Atlanta United opened the scoring in the fourth minute and San Jose equalized later in the half. The match remained tied most of the way until Emerson Hyndman scored a last-gasp goal in what would be the game-winner. Pity Martínez added one more in stoppage time to ice the match 3-1.

Players To Watch

Luiz Araújo (Atlanta United) – Araújo had a lackluster 2022 season, scoring four goals and five assists, but the forward has already shown flashes of his best form in the preseason. He’s scored six goals in the preseason, including a brace against Chattanooga FC, and linked up with Thiago Almada and Nick Firmino on a beautiful finish against Cruz Azul in Mexico. During media availability this week, Araújo said he was hungry to keep the scoring going, so he'll be looking to score the first goal of Atlanta United’s new season – just like he did against Sporting Kansas City in 2022.

Cristian Espinoza (San Jose Earthquakes) – San Jose has good pace up front, led in large part by Espinoza. The midfielder from Argentina started all but one match for the Quakes last season and had 14 assists to go along with seven goals. He’ll be looking to play on the front foot, feeding the ball to forwards Cade Cowell and Jeremy Ebobisse, last season’s scoring leader for the Quakes.

Atlanta United head coach Gonzalo Pineda on the San Jose Earthquakes

“At times people underestimate these types of teams that maybe don’t have a super flashy DP that’s a guy coming from Europe or something like that, but they’re a very good squad overall… Luchi [Gonzalez] I know is a very good coach, likes to play out from the back, likes to be positional in the buildup, so it’s going to be challenging. It’s going to be a good quad. It’s going to be a good test for us, and we’re going to be up for the task.”