Atlanta United vs Orlando City Prediction, Odds & Picks

• With a new manager at the helm, Atlanta are in the early days of a restructure
• Scoring problems or not, Orlando have shown that they are capable of securing points
• Atlanta are likely to have a leading player missing in the attack

Atlanta United vs Orlando City Odds

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Atlanta United vs Orlando City Predictions and Picks

Atlanta United will be hosting Friday’s match and only have one loss in their last six games. In front of what should be a packed house at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, they should be getting the win here, right?

Perhaps not.

Orlando City, who are undefeated in their previous seven MLS matches, have shaken off some attacking worries through a recent and high-scoring 3-2 win over the Columbus Crew. And even if they do revert to their inefficient ways in front of the net, they have no lack of examples of being able to solidify their defense and maintain a close result.

An away win might be just out of reach, but a level scoreline could be in the cards.

Pick:

The tie for Atlanta vs Orlando.

How to Watch Atlanta United vs Orlando City

Things were looking quite good for Atlanta for a short period of time.

After the firing of former manager Gabriel Heinze, there was a moment last month when it appeared like they were getting things back on track.

From August 4th through the 21st, Atlanta powered through with one draw and four wins. It was fleeting, but they showed signs of the club from 2018 that lifted that season’s MLS Cup title.

All that said, this is a team that must readjust after the Heinze era.

In his first game as manager, Gonzalo Pineda couldn’t do much to stop Atlanta from earning a 2-0 loss a little under two weeks ago against Nashville SC.

There’s promise there in the project, but it needs time.

Atlanta Are Reorganizing Their Setup Under New Management

Fans and media need to be patient with Pineda. Atlanta’s latest result was not only his first with the club, but also his first as a head coach.

And in spite of the fact that they didn’t play with the same energy and intensity that he has advocated for, they do have all of the tools to eventually make this happen.

Nonetheless, these things won’t get fixed overnight.

Following Heinze, Atlanta need to be altered and reconfigured before they become a dominant team once again.

There’s a lot of excitement regarding the hiring of Pineda, but he has plenty of work ahead of him.

Goals Or Not, Orlando Can Secure Points With Ease

What if Orlando’s three-goal performance from last week was just a flash in the pan? Before their latest win, they only scored four times in their previous five MLS matches.

The good news is that even away from home, they’ve been solid enough to help salvage points.

In fact, if we’re only looking at away results, they would continue to be 2nd in the Eastern Conference.

Not bad for a side that seem to have had issues with scoring in recent weeks.

Much of this is thanks to the approach from Oscar Pareja, who seems to have revived the squad since taking charge before the 2020 season.

On the field, plenty of praise is also due to game-changers like Nani, Darly Dike and countless others who have made them one of the strongest teams this season.

Key Striker Is Expected To Be Missing For Atlanta

Unfortunately for Atlanta, the international window for World Cup qualifiers emerged right when striker Josef Martinez was starting to find his groove.

Before heading over to South America for Venezuela’s three qualifiers, Martinez had found the back of the net four times in his last six MLS appearances.

At time of writing before Thursday’s game between Venezuela and Paraguay, it seems highly unlikely that he would then be immediately ready to take on Orlando on Friday.

Martinez may not be the current leading goalscorer (for now) on the team, but without their talisman up top, that does leave questions for Pineda’s setup this week.

How to Watch Atlanta United vs Orlando City