Atlanta United vs. Seattle Sounders, gamethread: Game time, TV schedule and lineups

It’s probably a stretch to suggest the Seattle Sounders and Atlanta United have a real rivalry. The two teams have only faced off in actual competition four times since Atlanta entered the league in 2017. Yet, it would also be a little insincere to suggest there doesn’t seem to be at least the makings for a rivalry.

For one, it seems as though the teams tend to measure themselves against one another, at least off the field. Atlanta came into the league and immediately surpassed the Sounders in terms of attendance and then followed that up by winning their first MLS Cup in just their second year. After a couple down years, Atlanta then hired away the Sounders’ top assistant coach to lead their team and followed that up by signing Sounders legend Osvaldo Alonso.

Neither Gonzalo Pineda nor Alonso have been able to turn things around this year, however. Alonso is one of a rather long list of injuries Atlanta has endured to key players and the team is, perhaps predictably, languishing in 12th place in the East, five points outside playoff position.

The Sounders, meanwhile, aren’t exactly lighting the world on fire, either. But they’ve at least moved into playoff position and are still just three points out of the No. 4 position in the West. They are, however, riding a three-game road losing streak and have won just two of their last seven games overall.

• Three of the four meetings between the Sounders and Atlanta have ended in ties, although they’ve only played at Mercedes Benz Stadium once. The Sounders have the only win in the series, a 2-1 victory in 2019.
• Atlanta have won just 3 of 17 games after a 3-1-1 start to 2022.
• Pineda is 14-14-10 since joining Atlanta about midway through the 2021 season.

Atlanta

QUESTIONABLE: Ronald Hernandez (MCL); Brooks Lennon (MCL)

OUT: Ozzie Alonso (torn ACL); Dylan Castanheira (achilles); Brad Guzan (achilles); Miles Robinson (achilles); Emerson Hyndman (quad); George Campbell (adductor)

Seattle

OUT: João Paulo (R ACL tear); Obed Vargas (lower back stress fracture)

REF: Armando Villarreal; AR1: Corey Parker; AR2: Logan Brown; 4TH: Nima Saghafi; VAR: Ismail Elfath; AVAR: Jonathan Johnson

Match date/kickoff time: Saturday, 12:08 PM PT

Venue: Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta

Online Streaming: ESPN+ (affiliate link), Fubo TV (affiliate link)

National English TV: ABC (Jon Champion, Taylor Twellman & Cristina Alexander)

Local Radio: 93.3 KJR-FM Seattle, iHeartMedia (Costigan, Keller)

Local Spanish Radio: El Rey 1360 AM (Rodriguez, Maqueda, Tapia)

Local Spanish TV: KUNS-TV Univision-Seattle

Highlights will be posted as the match progresses.

This is Seattle Sounders at Atlanta United; watch with us

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