Atlanta United take on arch-nemesis New York Red Bulls in their first group match of the MLS is Back tournament on Sunday. Atlanta won all of their opening two matches in the MLS regular season to lead the Eastern Conference into the Covid-19 break. The Red Bulls, on their part, collected four points from their opening two matches to rank second in the conference.
With the advent of the MLS is Back tourney, which kicked off on Wednesday, Atlanta and the Red Bulls were placed in Group E, alongside FC Cincinnati and Columbus Crew. The quartet will be fighting for the two automatic advancement positions to the knockout stages, although the third-placed team could progress based on "wildcard" rankings.
The Five Stripes kicked off their MLS regular season with a 2-1 win at Nashville before beating FC Cincinnati by a similar scoreline at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium a week later. In both games, Atlanta scored a goal before the half-hour mark. This was a great start for Atlanta, who had to wait until the 26th round for a chance at the top of the conference standings in the previous season.
However, in between the league games and the current fixture, Frank de Boer's team lost 3-0 at Mexico's Club America in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarter finals played a few days before lock-down, for their first defeat in five matches across all competitions. This was also Atlanta's fourth consecutive match to end with over 2.5 goals.
New York Red Bulls defeated Cincinnati 3-2 as the MLS regular season kicked off and were on the path to a second consecutive victory at Real Salt Lake when the hosts grabbed an equalizer in the last minute of the match for a 1-1 draw. In both matches, the Red Bulls were leading at the half time break. So far, the Red Bulls are undefeated in five consecutive games across all competitions, although three of the matches were drawn 1-1, with a goal scored in each half.
Last season, the two teams held each other to a 3-3 draw in the second round of the MLS regular season after the Red Bulls had won the reverse 1-0. At the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, the Metros will be looking at their historical record against Atlanta for inspiration after winning four of their last six head to head matches across all competitions, three times with clean sheets.
While the points from the MLS is Back tournament count towards the league's regular season, the matches are happening at a neutral ground, thereby, taking away the benefit of a home-ground advantage that could have been enjoyed by Atlanta United in this particular instance. However, Atlanta, who won the 2018 MLS Cup, are a tough side by their own merit and should play well anywhere. The New York Red Bulls have been triumphant over Atlanta in four of their last six head to head matches, and they might want to extend this trend with a win on Sunday. Because of the competitive nature of the two opponents, we expect both teams to score in this match and for an over 2.5 total with a goal scored by the half-hour mark.