Nashville SC vs. Atlanta United Prediction, Preview and Odds - 7/8/21
Nashville takes on Atlanta on Thursday night from Nissan Stadium in Nashville in a crucial Eastern Conference tilt. The two teams have already met once, back in Atlanta, on May 29th in what ended up being a 2-2 draw. It was a great point for Nashville, who found themselves down 1-0 at one point, and a brutal tie for the home side. Atlanta scored in the 6th and 51st minutes to go up 2-0, only to see Nashville score twice in the last ten minutes to snatch a tie out of the fixture. Atlanta has been thinking about the end to that game all season long, while Nashville has used that comeback to help propel them towards the top of the Eastern Conference standings. Atlanta sits six points back of Nashville heading into Thursday’s game, so grabbing three points on the road and trying to make up for the first meeting in May will be top of mind for the away side.
Nashville Getting Used To Home
After the international break, Nashville has had one of the nicest schedules in MLS, having played three of four games all at home. Thursday’s game will make it four in a row at home and Nashville has gone 2-0-1 in the previous three games, becoming increasingly difficult to beat at Nissan Stadium. With a plus-three goal differential and sitting on 18 points through 11 games, Nashville is eyeing a continuous climb up the Eastern Conference table as they look for home-field advantage at season’s end. On Saturday they took down third-place Philadelphia 1-0, after drawing with CF Montreal and downing Toronto in a shootout, 3-2, to start off the homestand at the end of June. A win against Atlanta would only serve to keep the momentum going as they welcome Chicago to Nashville for their fifth straight home game on Saturday night.
The addition of Ake Lobe is the talk of MLS right now but Nashville fans will have to be patient as he won’t be available for Thursday night. Nashville will also be missing some key starters, with Walker Zimmerman, Alistair Johnston, and Anibal Godoy all out on international duty, and Dom Badji out with an ankle injury. Columbus will have all of their goalscorers in the mix though, with leading scorer Hany Mukhtar bringing his three goals into action. Mukhtar scored both goals in May 29th’s huge Nashville comeback and will need to bring that same form in against United on Thursday. One player to keep an eye on is midfielder Dax McCarty, who has the defensive instincts to slow down Atlanta, but the touch to break through multiple levels of defense when attacking. If he’s on top of his game, this Nashville team is difficult to beat.
Without Walker Zimmerman in the back, the defense takes a huge hit on Thursday night. It’ll end up being a young group that takes the back line but one to keep an eye out for is Daniel Lovitz. The former USMNT player brings experience and athleticism to the outside and can help guide the younger players along without Zimmerman’s experience in the back four. At goalkeeper, Joe Willis has a stranglehold on the starting keeper position, but still needs to make sure he’s calm and focused if he wants to avoid giving up multiple games yet again to Atlanta.
Atlanta Far Cry From Years Past
When they first joined MLS, Atlanta was perennially one of the best teams, but this year has been far from that standard. Atlanta sits at tenth in the Eastern Conference standings, with 12 points in 11 games and a minus-two goal differential and need every win they can get, even with the road games, in order to get back into playoff positioning by the end of summer. In the first meeting between the two teams on the season, Atlanta dominated possession but the shooting totals were pretty even as Atlanta gave up a 2-0 lead in the final minutes to allow Nashville to steal a point. Thursday’s game is all about revenge for Atlanta and getting themselves back on the winning path.
Unfortunately for Atlanta, they might be the hardest hit team on the injury report list this week. Emerson Hyndman has been out for a while but is still a miss, while Franco Ibarra (lower body) is also hurt. As if that wasn’t enough of an issue for a team trying to find points anyway that they can, they’ll also be without George Bello, Brad Guzan, Miles Robinson, and Ezequiel Barco, who are all out on international duty. Questionable for the game includes Josef Martinez, Alan Franco, Matheus Rossetto, Jurgen Damm, and Santiago Sosa. That means goal production and just minutes that will be missed and tough to replicate as they go on the road for the second straight game.
The good news is that they’ll have leading scorer, Marcelino Moreno, who has three goals in 11 games on the year but will be without multiple goal scorers and assist providers. Of their nine goals scored this year, four of those won’t be accounted for in Thursday’s lineup. Of their five assists, three of those won’t be accounted for either.
Pick: Nashville (-180)
While Atlanta might have the revenge factor working for themselves, that’s about all they’ll have going for them in this matchup. Nashville is playing their fourth straight home game, while Atlanta is on the road for the second straight game which won’t be ideal for a team already battling depth issues. Atlanta could be without as many as 11 players, mostly starters, when they take the field on Thursday, and with short rest as well, that’s a difficult thing to overcome. Nashville will be missing some of their own players, but still have the majority of their offense intact and will be expected to get the win without a doubt.
Pick: Over
These two teams scored four goals total in their first matchup of the season and the good news for Nashville is that they’re bringing back most of their offense into Thursday’s matchup. While Atlanta will be missing some of theirs, Nashville being without Walker Zimmerman will give Atlanta a chance at scoring some goals of their own. Atlanta’s lack of players will hurt their midfield and defensive depth, which Nashville should have no problem taking advantage of.
