At the end of a trio of matches within just over a week, Atlanta United is leaning on what, or rather who, it knows. Head coach Tata Martino and his coaching staff make just two changes to the starting lineup from last time out against Charlotte, as the 5-Stripes this time square off against New England Revolution.
The 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff will be an opportunity to take momentum from the last 45 minutes of Atlanta United's 2-2 draw with their rivals Wednesday night. A comeback curated entirely in the second period, the 5-Stripes will keep that squad intact for the most part.
Starting in goal, it's Lucas Hoyos coming off an 8-save match that equaled his most in a league match since June 2023. He'll be supported in defense by the unit that has the only two changes to the lineup. Matt Edwards recovers from injury to start at right back in place of suspended Tomás Jacob, and Stian Gregersen starts over Enea Mihaj at center back.
Rounding out the backline are joined by midweek goalscorer Elías Báez and new signing Júnior Alonso, who will make his second ever start for the club.
Tristan Muyumba, Will Reilly and Cooper Sanchez make up the middle of the pitch for the 5-Stripes, a unit who will be tested physically after having all started in the midweek.
Up in attack, gleaning anything from the Charlotte match, it'll be Miguel Almirón and Alexey Miranchuk supporting forward Fafa Picault in the middle. That could, of course, change throughout the match, as Miranchuk has stepped into a false nine role more often in recent matches.
Here's the full starting XI for Atlanta United at New England Revolution:
Lucas Hoyos, Matt Edwards, Stian Gregersen, Júnior Alonso, Elías Báez, Will Reilly, Tristan Muyumba, Cooper Sanchez, Alexey Miranchuk, Miguel Almirón (C), Fafa Picault
Reserves: Jayden Hibbert, Ronald Hernández, Enea Mihaj, Toto Majub, Adrian Gill, Ignacio Suarez-Couri, Luke Brennan, Cayman Togashi, Arif Kovac
Roster Notes:
-- Miguel Almirón starts and captains the 5-Stripes after having represented Paraguay at the 2026 FIFA World Cup™. The designated player scored his last time out against Charlotte FC to level the match in the 76th minute.
-- Almirón sits on the precipice of history, needing just one more goal to become Atlanta United’s first-ever 30 goal and 30 assist player. He currently is sitting on 29 career goals for ATL UTD and 40 assists.
-- Cooper Sanchez, the 18-year-old Homegrown player, starts his 15th match of the MLS regular season. The midfielder was recently selected to the United States U-19 Men's National Team's squad for the 2026 Concacaf U-20 Championship and will remain with the 5-Stripes through the week before joining the U.S. in Mexico.
-- Elías Báez starts just days after scoring the second league goal of his career. The left back last got on the scoresheet Aug. 16, 2025, with San Lorenzo.
-- The club announced today it signed Arif Kovac, Toto Majub and Ignacio Suarez-Couri to Short-Term Agreements earlier this week. The three Atlanta United 2 players will be available on the bench.
-- Atlanta United's Friday availability report listed four players out for tonight's match, including Jay Fortune, Tomás Jacob, Paulo Díaz and Sergio Santos.
-- Head coach Tata Martino will be unable to coach on the sideline for the match due to a Yellow Card Suspension.
