Atlanta United hosts Toronto FC tonight at Mercedes Benz Stadium as the Five Stripes look to break their seven game winless streak at home.
The Five Stripes are coming off of a very successful road stretch where they beat DC United 1-0 and tied St. Louis 1-1 on the road. HOWEVER, (I had to make the joke) Toronto FC is heading to the Benz with a three game losing streak where they lost twice at home against Chicago Fire and Nashville SC, and lost to New York Red Bulls on the road 3-0.
“The big thing for me is to never be complacent. Even after a good stretch, we know the outcome we always want. We want to win games whether it’s home or away,” said interim head coach Rob Valentino when asked about the winless streak at home being motivation for the team heading into this match. “Ultimately that didn’t go our way because we only got four points instead of six, but at the same time, it's how we go about it and making sure that we don’t settle on that.”
The all time record between these two sides is 4-6-6 with Toronto FC leading with six wins. The last time these two sides faced off was back on March 23 at BMO Field where Toronto beat Atlanta 2-0.
One of the biggest takeaways for me is that five homegrowns have been featured for Atlanta in the past two matches. They have played 3,754 minutes combined in 19 MLS matches. Fans will more than likely see a few of them in today’s match.
"It's exciting to see the homegrowns come through. It's exciting to see them take that next step in terms of performing and playing at a high level in the first team,” Brad Guzan said this week. “It's exciting, you hear about these kids through coaches in the academy and then to see it all come to fruition and see them step on the field. That part is pretty cool, especially from a club standpoint."
Keep an eye out on SDH’s social media for more on these Homegrown players soon.
Atlanta United faces off against Toronto tonight at 7:30 p.m. You can watch the match on MLS Season Pass or you can listen to the match on 92.9 the Game with pregame coverage starting at 6:30 p.m.
✍️: Madison Crews
📷: Jason Longshore
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