Soccer Weekend: Despite struggles, don't sleep on Atlanta United as they come to Route 1

Don’t do it.

Don’t go into Saturday night’s bottom-of-the-table six-pointer thinking that just because the Revolution are ahead of Atlanta United FC by two places that it’s going to be an easy ‘W’ for The Boys In Blue. That’s not how any of this works.

And yes, the Five Stripes are certainly struggling a bit through their third campaign in Major League Soccer. That MLS Cup Final hangover is all too real — look at Portland, their MLS Cup opponents, losing to San Jose of all teams a week ago — and that, coupled with some CONCACAF Champions League matchups, have AUFC lethargic in the early goings.

But with a drop of a dime, Atlanta can make things happen.

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New Atlanta United coach Frank de Boer has fiddled with the alignments over the last few weeks; the Five Stripes are coming off a bye week following a soggy 2-0 loss to Columbus at MAPFRE Stadium the week before last. He had utilized a 4-3-3 which did not have Pity Martinez in the mix thanks to a hamstring strain while on international duty with Argentina. In a 1-1 draw against Philadelphia, he went with a 3-4-3. Atlanta Journal-Constitution beat writer Doug Roberson indicated earlier this week that AUFC will more than likely go with four in the back in Foxborough.

And obviously, Atlanta is such a different team without Martinez. He has a motor, and he creates space for himself with deft touches on the ball, making his runs look effortless; it’s almost like he’s playing FIFA on the rookie level.

Atlanta is also rather dangerous on the counter, as they showed in their 1-1 draw against Philadelphia three weeks ago. If AUFC gets on the break, it’ll be hard for New England to slow them down, especially with the pace — read: scary fast — it has between Pity and Josef Martinez. And not only those two: Providence College product Julian Gressel out on the wings is fleet of foot, and can get things going with a flick of his right. Expect Ezequiel Barco to get in the mix.

It is also safe to say that with Atlanta’s lack of luck so far that the squad is still getting used to Pity Martinez’s presence; after all, the team was so used to Miguel Almiron, now at Newcastle United in England.

They do start from the back under de Boer, with former Rev and Providence native Michael Parkhurst dictates the original point of the attack. Keep your eyes on which way he directs the ball to see which way they’ll start their movements into the attacking half.

If New England is to have success Saturday night, it has to be equally as fast on the counter, as the Five Stripes — even with Parkhurst and Arlington’s Miles Robinson back there — have a tendency to be disorganized; against Columbus, the Crew had gone right at them and had Atlanta chasing the match right from jump street. They can be flat-footed. Parkhurst, though, is excellent in 1-v-1 situations, and does a great job on cutting down on angles and forcing the forwards off to the side, and Robinson is fast to clear the ball.

On the injury front: For the Revs, Edgar Castillo (calf) and Antonio Delamea (knee) are questionable. It will be interesting to see the back line should those two be unavailable Saturday, especially with Michael Mancienne suspended. If they don’t play, I’m expecting this as a back line (from left to right): Brandon Bye, Jalil Anibaba, Andrew Farrell, Luis Caicedo.

For Atlanta, Mikey Ambrose is out with a meniscus injury, and so, too, is Homegrown phenom George Bello (hip). Also listed as out are Kevin Kratz (calf) and Brandon Vasquez (knee). Pity Martinez is expected to be available for selection, and so is Florian Pogba, who was out of action prior to the bye with a hamstring injury.

Around the league this weekend:

Tonight, Chicago will host Vancouver.

On Saturday, Montreal hosts Columbus, while Houston takes on San Jose (3 p.m., Univision), Seattle hosts Toronto, Minnesota United opens Allianz Field with a nationally televised tilt with New York City FC (5 p.m., ESPN2). In addition, FC Dallas hosts Portland, Colorado hosts DC United, Real Salt Lake hosts Orlando City, LA Galaxy hosts Phildelphia, and LAFC hosts FC Cincinnati.

Only one game on tap for Sunday, as Sporting Kansas City hosts New York Red Bulls at 7 p.m. ET on FS1.

In the USL, Hartford Athletic is at Pittsburgh, while Birmingham Legion is at Saint Louis FC.

In the Premier League, the weekend gets started this afternoon as Leicester City takes on Newcastle. Tomorrow, Tottenham Hotspur are the hosts in the 7:30 a.m. tilt against Huddersfield Town; five points separates Bournemouth and Brighton Hove & Albion, and they’ll go after it at 10. Cardiff travels to Burnley looking for three points to keep its survival hopes alive, which would be tough to do if it loses and 17th-place Southampton gets a result against Wolverhampton. Fulham will host Everton, and Manchester United takes on West Ham at 12:30 p.m.

Sunday sees Crystal Palace hosting Manchester City, while Liverpool hosts Chelsea in the late game. Arsenal will travel to Watford on Monday.

Enjoy the football.