In a sense, FC Cincinnati and Atlanta United FC both enter Sunday night’s game looking for their identity.
For Cincinnati, the club lost 4-1 at Seattle Sounders FC last weekend in the club’s inaugural MLS match. After the game and throughout this week, Head Coach Alan Koch said it’s critical the squad builds cohesion. Chemistry levels need to run parallel to roster quality.
As for Atlanta, the reigning MLS Cup champions lost the season opener at D.C. United and lost Wednesday night in the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals. New coach Frank de Boer is still adjusting to his team and the players are adjusting to the new 3-4-3 formation.
Thus, both teams enter the game with more questions than answers — which should be expected early in the season.
Approaching game two of the 34-game season, captain and center back Kendall Waston said the priority is improvement.
“There are little details we have to sharpen up,” Waston said. “What matters here is we need three points. That is what we’re looking for.”
Earning three points won’t be easy.
Along with playing the current MLS Cup champions, Atlanta is expecting a massive crowd to celebrate last season’s title and the start of the new campaign. A potential crowd of more than 70,000 fans would bypass last week’s match (39,011) as the biggest crowd Cincinnati has played in front of.
Garza’s potential return and Saief’s debut?
Greg Garza spent two seasons with Atlanta United FC, making 37 regular season appearances. On Sunday, he could make his FC Cincinnati debut against his previous club.
“I don’t know what my role will be in the game yet,” Garza said. “We still don’t know who will be playing. I believe I can help however possible. I’ll be completely satisfied with that and to return to a place that has a special place in my heart.”
He’s not the only one who could debut.
Cincinnati also signed Kenny Saief on loan this week and Koch said both he and Garza could be available for minutes this weekend.
“Kenny’s just a very, very skilled player,” Koch said. “He can create things out of nothing sometimes.”
If both Garza and Saief debut, that would add two players with experience on the U.S. Men’s National Team to Koch’s lineup options.
Match info
FC Cincinnati at Atlanta United FC
Kickoff: 5 p.m. EST
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Weather Forecast: Cloudy, 71F
Watch: ESPN
Stream: WatchESPN
Listen: WDJO (99.5 FM, 107.9 FM and 1480 AM)
Player to watch: forward Josef Martínez
The Venezuelan striker is the reigning MLS MVP after setting the single-season record for goals scored: 31.
ATLUTD were the only MLS team not to score last weekend. But the fact that Martínez scored in 91.1 percent of Atlanta’s regular-season matches last year highlights his quality and potential. At this point, that he didn’t score against D.C. United is an outlier more so than the new normal.
Club connections:
Garza played two seasons in Atlanta before FC Cincinnati acquired the left back. He scored three goals and had eight assists.
