Preview: Atlanta United vs Seattle Sounders - prediction, team news, lineups

Paying just their third visit to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Seattle Sounders take on Atlanta United in MLS action on Saturday evening.

The Five Stripes are coming off a narrow 3-2 defeat versus Charlotte FC, while the Rave Green came back to beat the San Jose Earthquakes 3-2 in their previous league fixture.

Match preview

Last Saturday was one of the few times all season that Atlanta started a game strong, but it was not enough as they extended their winless run in MLS to seven matches.

Ronny Deila’s men had picked up at least a point in three of their previous matches at home before last week but have conceded multiple goals in four straight regular-season affairs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

With 11 MLS matches remaining, the Five Stripes have a lot of catching up to do in the post-season race, currently 13 points below that line in the Eastern Conference.

So far this year, Atlanta United have failed to win four matches in this competition after netting the opening goal, and those 12 points dropped are looming large at the moment.

Saturday will be their third league contest of 2025 versus a Western Conference team, and the Five Stripes are undefeated in those two prior encounters.

Atlanta have never lost a home game versus the Sounders, while they have won the last two meetings against them, conceding just one goal over that span.

It is no surprise to see Seattle sitting in a top-four position at this stage of the campaign, but the manner in which they have got there has been rather uncharacteristic for this team.

Brian Schmetzer’s side have built up a reputation of being among the stingiest defensive units in the league in recent times, though this year they have conceded multiple goals on 10 occasions and three or more five times.

In total, they have given up 33 goals domestically thus far, which is only two fewer than they allowed in the previous campaign when they conceded the fewest goals in the league.

Four times this season the Sounders have failed to earn maximum points in this competition despite netting the opening goal, though they have not lost all year when doing so.

Only three of their victories this season have occurred away from home, and if they are to surpass their number of wins from 2024, they must win their final six regular-season road games.

The Rave Green have netted a goal or fewer in five of their six all-time meetings against Atlanta, however, they are unbeaten in their previous four league contests away from home versus Eastern Conference opposition.

Atlanta United MLS form:

Seattle Sounders MLS form:

Seattle Sounders form (all competitions):

Team News

Three players were unavailable for the Five Stripes against Charlotte, with Stian Rode Gregersen suffering from a quadriceps issue, Ajani Fortune had a sore foot and Josh Cohen was sidelined with an arm injury.

Tristan Muyumba gave them the lead just before the 20-minute mark last Saturday, while Emmanuel Latte Lath put them within one in the latter stages, but it was not enough to earn this team a point.

On the Seattle side, Joao Paulo and Paul Arriola missed their previous match due to knee injuries, Stuart Hawkins saw out with a quad strain and Stefan Frei was sidelined because of a head injury.

Danny Musovski netted a brace against the Quakes, with the winning goal coming courtesy of Pedro de la Vega, the eighth and second, respectively, for those two in MLS this year.

Atlanta United possible starting lineup:

Guzan; Hernandez, Abram, Williams, Edwards; Miranchuk, Slisz, Muyumba; Almiron, Latte Lath, Thiare

Seattle Sounders possible starting lineup:

Thomas; A. Roldan, Gomez Andrade, Bell, Baker-Whiting; Vargas, C. Roldan; Ferreira, Rusnak, De la Vega; Morris

We say: Atlanta United 1-2 Seattle Sounders

The Five Stripes consistently find ways to lose, while the Sounders understand how to find that extra gear when needed and come up with a win, which is why we expect them to claim their first triumph in Atlanta on Saturday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.