Atlanta United make long-awaited return home to face Fire
Playing in front of their home fans for the first time in nearly two months, Atlanta United will look to snap a five-game winless stretch against the Chicago Fire on Wednesday night.
Atlanta (4-10-7, 19 points) last played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on May 28, which also coincides with its last victory -- a 3-2 win over Orlando City. The team had to hit the road while the FIFA Club World Cup staged several matches in the stadium.
Despite a disappointing season in Atlanta, the team has picked up points in consecutive outings, last working a 1-1 draw at Toronto FC on Saturday.
Among the Atlanta players who hope to end the team's funk is striker Emmanuel Latte Lath, the first-year MLS player who leads the club with six goals on the season. After going scoreless since March 29, Latte Lath's penalty goal in extra time propelled Atlanta to the tie against Toronto.
The 26-year-old hopes a return home will prolong his strong play.
'It's normal, when you don't score for a long time as a striker, you become frustrated,' Latte Lath said. 'It's normal, but I just try to keep my head focused and wait for the right moment. ... It's hard because, when things are going like this, you go home to your family and you need to switch off. It's not easy. But the only thing I know is to look at the positive things.'
Chicago (8-9-4, 28 points), which beat Atlanta 2-1 on May 10, enters play having lost four of its last five games. The Fire have dropped back-to-back 2-1 losses in MLS play, including a setback at home against San Diego FC on Saturday.
'We're in there, we have great effort, we're creating a ton of chances, but we're also hurting ourselves,' Chicago head coach Gregg Berhalter said. 'I hope that message resonates with the group. I think we just need to keep going. We need to focus on continuing to give that type of effort and stay positive.'
Chicago is paced by Hugo Cuypers' 12 goals on the year, followed by Philip Zinckernagel's nine. Both Chicago and Atlanta have surrendered 38 goals -- third-most in the Eastern Conference -- but the Fire have netted 40 on the season to Atlanta's 23.
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