A pair of teams riding two-game winning streaks will look to continue their strong play on Saturday when the New York Red Bulls host Atlanta United in an Eastern Conference matchup in Harrison, N.J.
Atlanta (4-7-5, 17 points) followed an eight-game winless stretch (0-5-3) with a pair of victories that have pulled the club further from the East’s basement. Atlanta topped FC Cincinnati 4-2 last Sunday before rallying in the closing minutes for a 3-2 win against Orlando City on Wednesday.
Atlanta trailed Orlando 2-1 late, but Bartosz Slisz tied the score in the 83rd minute and Jamal Thiare scored the game-winner in the fifth minute of extra time to propel Atlanta to its second win over a team with a winning record in as many games.
For a squad desperately searching for a season turnaround, the win on Wednesday might have been the jolt it needed.
“We kept believing. In the end, in the second half we were so dominant that they couldn’t cope with it,” Atlanta head coach Ronny Deila said. “Being average is boring, so I want to see more personality, more togetherness, more energy and take our fantastic fans with us.”
Atlanta’s seven goals across its last two outings match the club’s total from its previous nine games. Emmanuel Latte Lath leads United with five goals while Miguel Almiron and Thiare follow with three apiece.
New York (7-6-3, 24 points) also enters the match on a hot streak, having won two straight over D.C. United and Charlotte FC. In the Red Bulls’ 4-2 win over Charlotte on Wednesday, Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting netted a pair of goals to increase his team-lead to nine.
“It’s very important that he continues to build his confidence and he is able to score,” New York head coach Sandro Schwarz said of Choupo-Moting. “He’s a very good player and has a very good character. We need to keep him at this level.”
After dropping three of its previous four games (0-3-1), New York has posted back-to-back wins for the first time in 2025.
In the first meeting this season, Atlanta and New York tied 0-0 on March 8 as the visiting Red Bulls were held to zero shots on goal.
–Field Level Media
