Philadelphia Union is set to head south this weekend to take on Atlanta United in a Saturday matinee at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as both teams push to find their first three-point outing of the year.
The match kicks off at 3PM with coverage on FOX and Apple TV – tune in to watch the action!
Philadelphia Union and Atlanta United each are in search of their first victory of the league season, having dropped their first three matches and both find themselves amongst five teams in the Eastern conference to open the season winless. With no points on the board, both sides will enter this one determined for a favorable result, and Carnell hopes his group starts the match with the same determination they did at the end of their hard-fought 1-0 loss to Club America in Concacaf Champions Cup on Tuesday night.
“We want to travel there with the energy that we expect and the commitment to continue to be brave and executing the moments that got away from us against Club America. How we ended that game is, for sure, how we want to start – with that same intensity and energy, and hopefully we can get the ball over the line,” Carnell said in his prematch press conference on Thursday.
After last season's campaign saw the Five Stripes finish in 14th place in the East, Atlanta United have returned to a familiar face on the sidelines for 2026 Head Coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino is leading the team once more guiding them to MLS Cup glory in 2018 and then coaching Inter Miami CF in 2023 and 2024. With new leadership, Atlanta United was busy in the offseason with eight new players joining the squad. They overhauled the backline, bringing in defenders Tomás Jacob and Elías Báez as well as goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos. Saturday’s match will feature a few familiar names for Union fans with forwards Sergio Santos and Fafa Picault also part of the offseason transformation for Atlanta.
With the likes of Miguel Almiron and Ammanuel Latte Lath up top, Atlanta is hoping its own offense will find a spark soon as the second Tata era has gotten off to a slow start. Last weekend they fell by a 3-2 scoreline in their home opener to Real Salt Lake. The road team jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the opening half but there was a bright spot in the attack for Atlanta with Designated Player Alexey Miranchuk scoring a brace for the club’s first two goals of the season.
