Soccer
Atlanta United sporting director Chris Henderson has revealed he is working with the club to get more signings through the door after a difficult start to their MLS campaign.
Following a 4-1 thrashing by the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium, Atlanta are bottom of the Eastern Conference table after 17 games of the 2026 season.
The Five Stripes have also conceded 30 goals, but they have gone about improving their defensive options with the signings of Junior Alonso and Paulo Diaz.
Ahead of facing fellow strugglers Philadelphia Union this weekend, Henderson revealed that he expects more business to be conducted, and he has identified attackers as key.
“We are working on other signings to add,” Henderson said. “We are in good conversations on multiple positions further up the field.
“As I said before, some of those combinations are some outgoings at the same time as some incomings, and we’ll see some of those announcements in the next few weeks.”
Henderson’s comments come with Atlanta failing to fire in the final third, with Tata Martino’s side the lowest scorers across both divisions in the MLS this season (17).
When asked why he chose to join Atlanta, Diaz outlined his belief that the Five Stripes can still climb up the standings.
“I’ve had the desire to come compete in this league for a while now, but when I spoke to Tata about the project, he made that desire grow even more,” Diaz said.
“To be able to come here, I want to help compete and help the team get to where it wants to be.”
Double header on the books pic.twitter.com/XLsgQ8QgEt
— Atlanta United FC (@ATLUTD) July 28, 2026
Philadelphia, meanwhile, have been a team reborn under the stewardship of interim boss Ryan Richter, who oversaw yet another win in their last league outing.
In his first two matches since replacing last year’s MLS Coach of the Year, Bradley Carnell, Richter has masterminded wins over the New York Red Bulls and Seattle Sounders.
Milan Iloski scored the only goal at Subaru Park last time out, moving the Union above this weekend’s opponents and within eight points of the final playoff spot in the East.
Richter gave all the credit to his players for their recent upturn in form, citing their mentality as key to turning their results around.
“It’s not easy to turn around in three days, especially with everything the team put into the game on Wednesday,” Richter said. “It wasn’t perfect.
“But I can’t ask for anything more from the guys with the mentality and attitude and the way we approached that game against a really good Seattle team.
“To get another home win and put that type of effort in gives us a lot of positive energy and a lot of momentum.
“It’s giving us the push of what we are trying to build for the second half of the season. It was not a perfect performance, but it was the right mentality.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Philadelphia Union – Milan Iloski
Iloski scored the lone goal in Philadelphia’s win over Seattle on Saturday, and he has now scored in five consecutive regular-season matches dating back to May.
His five straight games with a goal equals the longest run by a player in the Union’s MLS history, matching Daniel Gazdag between August and September 2022.
Atlanta United – Miguel Almiron
Almiron scored at both Charlotte and New England in Atlanta’s last two matches, the second time he’s scored in consecutive regular-season away games (September 2018).
Only four players have scored in three straight away league matches for the Five Stripes, most recently Daniel Rios between June and July 2024.
MATCH PREDICTION: PHILADELPHIA UNION WIN
Atlanta beat Philadelphia 3-1 on March 14 and could defeat the Union twice in a single season for just the second time (2018). The 2018 season marked the only time the Five Stripes have won at the Union (D3 L5), having gone winless in seven straight visits in all competitions since.
The Five Stripes will also conclude the longest run of road games in team history, playing their seventh straight on the road in all competitions.
This is the longest run of road games by a US-based MLS team in a single season since Nashville SC played eight straight away from home to begin the 2022 season.
But they will face a tough test here. After winning just one of their 15 regular-season matches before the summer break (D4 L10), Philadelphia have won both of their matches since returning under interim manager Richter.
No interim manager has won his first three matches of a stint in charge of any team in MLS history.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Philadelphia Union – 55.4%
Draw – 22.7%
Atlanta United – 21.8%
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