Preview: Atlanta United at Philadelphia Union

i always knew it would end with me dying in a subaru by the river

Well. Here we go.

I’d imagine you were hoping Atlanta United would head into this stretch with seven or nine points in tow. Instead, you got…whatever that was. Now, you can take your pick of Succession-style numbers that make you feel fear.

Is it two of the next three on the road? Maybe four of the next five on the road? What about 10 of the next 14 road? Or you could go headfirst into the realization that 13 of the next 17 are against teams above the playoff line and two of the four teams that aren’t above the line are NYCFC and Seattle? Or, I dunno, what if you haven’t gotten past staring at that six-game road stretch from May 31 to July 12? I wouldn’t blame you for that. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure book where every page you flip to has a new Final Destination-style ending. At least on paper.

I have no way of proving this without hours and hours of research, but I’m going to guess that there aren’t many teams in MLS that will face as tough a stretch as Atlanta United is set to face over the next few months. They virtually have half a season of gauntlet on the way. And it starts in a place where they just don’t win.

In late 2019,