Merry Crewsmas! Your defending MLS champion Columbus Crew is set to begin its title defense in the 2024 campaign just 77 short days after winning their third MLS Cup. In that time, the Crew have added Derrick Jones, Marino Hinestroza and Nico Hagen to their roster to strengthen the squad. They have also resigned some notable players such as Rudy Camacho, Steven Moreira, Mo Farsi, and Sean Zawadski.

Needless to say, the expectations for the Black & Gold are sky-high in 2024 as they look to defend their crown. The Black & Gold have a difficult task in their home opener as Atlanta United visits Lower.com Field for the first time since the Crew bounced the Five Stripes from the 2023 playoffs. Led by Thiago Almada, Atlanta have revamped their squad in the offseason and is looking to return to elite status in the competitive Eastern Conference. Here is what to expect from the Five Stripes and how the Crew can start their title defense with three points. 

Atlanta United at a Glance:

2023 Record: 13-12-9, 51 points

2023 Leading Scorer: Gregorios Giakoumakis (17)

Assist Leader: Thiago Almada (19)

Player to Watch: Thiago Almada

Despite numerous transfer rumors surrounding Almada this offseason, Atlanta has managed to retain his services, at least for the beginning of the 2024 campaign. The 22-year-old was pretty vocal about his desire for a transfer to Europe, but no such move materialized this offseason. Thus, Almada remains the hottest prospect in MLS and the star man for Atlanta in 2024.

He came into the league from Velez Sarsfield in Argentina and has been one of the most brilliant attacking players in the league since he arrived in 2022. Simply put, there’s nothing Almada can’t do in the attack. His 17 goals and 31 assists in two years prove he can produce at the highest level. The Argentine can “disappear” when roaming the field and looking for space to receive the ball in. He can suddenly appear out of nowhere and kickstart the attack for his side.

Perhaps more impressive is his ability to help link up play between Atlanta’s midfield and attack. Almada pulls all the strings for the Five Stripes attack with his passing and ability to beat defenders one-on-one. It’s also worth mentioning that he is one of the best dead-ball servers in the league. The Crew will need to keep Almada off the ball and away from dangerous areas to beat Atlanta this Saturday.

How Atlanta United play: 

Five Stripes Head Coach Gonzalo Pineda typically swaps between two different formations when facing the Black & Gold. Pineda’s preferred formation is a 4-2-3-1, however, he has played a 3-5-2 formation a few times against Wilfried Nancy’s Columbus Crew.

Frankly, the 3-5-2 has not worked well for Atlanta against the Black & Gold as they have given up 8 goals and scored 0 in these two matches. Given this fact and the fact that Atlanta has a fully fit and available squad for this match, I would be shocked to see Atlanta in anything other than a 4-2-3-1

Regardless of what shape they are in, Atlanta’s principles of play are always the same. Atlanta will look to move their outside backs high up the field when in possession. In doing so, they can move their dangerous attacking players like Thiago Almada, Saba Lobzhanidze, and Xande Silva into advanced central areas.  Lobzhanidze and Silva will look to get on the ball and either drive at the defense or pass the ball to their advanced outside backs to switch the point of attack. This movement and shape make Atlanta very hard to defend and win the ball from. If the visitors can win the ball near midfield, they will look to counterattack as quickly as possible and let their attacking players run into the space behind their opponent’s backline. 

Defensively, I expect Atlanta to defend in a mid-block to allow them to be compact and limit the Crew’s ability to have space between their lines to progress the ball forward. I would also expect to see them have some sort of trigger or cue to initiate a press to try and win the ball back. When this happens, Atlanta will apply heavy pressure to the ball to try and win it back.

As the game continues, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Five Stripes move their pressure higher up the field in an attempt to win the ball back and disrupt the Crew’s rhythm as they did at times in the playoffs. As with most Crew matches under Nancy, the Crew will expect to be in possession for the majority of the match, so they must have a plan to break down Atlanta’s compact defensive structure. 

How the Crew can win:

The Crew will be looking to start the year off strong with a victory in front of a sold-out Lower.com Field. Here are a few things for Columbus to focus on to take three points into week two.

1. Defend the Counter: This might be the number one key to every match for the Black & Gold under Wilfried Nancy. Due to their expansive playing style and the numbers they push into attack, there are usually gaping holes at the back for the opponents to counter into. No doubt Nancy and company are well aware of this and will have a rested defense and counter-pressing structure in place. The Crew will need to execute those two things very well to limit Atlanta’s threat in transition.
   
2. Play Through the Press: At times in the past, the Crew have struggled to play through Atlanta’s defensive structure. At other times, it has looked like a walk in the park (think of their first meeting last year.) When the Crew can play through their shape effectively, they can create loads of scoring opportunities for their attackers to convert. When they don’t it leads to a lack of rhythm in possession and opportunities for Atlanta to counter. If the Crew have an easy time playing from front to back on Saturday, that is a good sign for the Black & Gold faithful.

3. Defend Set Pieces: The Crew has struggled in dealing with defensive set pieces over the last few years and with no coaching staff changes or major personnel changes heading into 2024, I expect this to be a bit of a concern for the Crew, at least in the beginning of the year. It just so happens that Atlanta is a very good attacking set-piece side and is no doubt aided by the service that Almada can provide. The Crew will need to be switched on in this phase of play as it could provide Atlanta a decent threat in this match. If the Crew can limit Atlanta’s danger, it will help them maintain an advantage in this match.