Atlanta United vs CF Montreal: How to pretend like you know what you're talking about for Matchday 1

Who wants to set the tone, boys?

Same as every time, y’all. We’re going to give you the tools to sound like the smartest person in the room in whatever room you happen to be watching the game. Whether that’s in the stadium. in your house, or in a fight with someone on Al Gore’s internet, we’re going to try and get you prepared. So get your mind right. This is more about you than it is about me.

When you hear someone talking about how excited they are for the attack and you want to be a bummer: “The back line is missing three starters today and also we’re past the point of no return on climate change.”

Definitely be excited about the attack! We might have to wait one more game before we get a look at the fully loaded front four in the starting lineup—Latte Lath isn’t likely to start quite yet¹—but the addition of Miguel Almirón should be enough to get you more than excited. The problem for this game though is that Atlanta is entering the season with a list of injuries on the back line that already feels unsettlingly large.

Pedro Amador is dealing with a hamstring injury and won’t be available. Stian Gregersen is coming back from a quad injury and isn’t set to start. And Brooks Lennon hasn’t returned to full contact training after the shoulder injury he picked up against Inter Miami. That means we’re looking at a starting lineup that looks something like this.²