By Tony Álvarez
HEAD-TO-HEAD
- 1st meeting all-time between the two sides
- Record at Leagues Cup: Pumas (4-3), Atlanta (0-5)
LAST FIVE GAMES
- Pumas:
- 2 Wins, 0 Draws, 3 Losses
- Has one Liga MX win in the current season
- Pumas won their first Leagues Cup game in penalty kicks
- Atlanta United:
- 0 Wins, 3 Draws, 2 Losses
- Coming off 3-1 loss to Necaxa in home stadium Atlanta United
- Has allowed at least one goal in four of their last five matchups
MAIN STORYLINES
- Keylor Navas is playing in his first career Leagues Cup, already pulled out a penalty shootout win in his opening match
- Pumas gave up six goals in the first two games of the Apertura 2025 before Keylor Navas´ arrival, only allowed one in two games since
- Atlanta United has not won a game since the month of May, looking to snap a 9-game winless streak
- Atlanta needs to shore up the defense, they have allowed multiple goals in 4 straight games (10 total in that span)
- Pumas has been involved in a penalty shootout in every group stage/phase one Leagues Cup they have played in
KEY FACTORS
- Pumas:
- Keylor Navas at goalkeeper brings experience and confidence to the team
- Jorge Ruvalcaba is the team´s leading scorer and generates opportunities up front
- Head coach Efraín Juárez knows MLS teams very well having played at Vancouver and working as an assistant at New York City FC
- Atlanta United:
- Still looking for their first win at Leagues Cup, have been outscored 11-5 in their five losses since 2023
- In their five Leagues Cup losses since 2023, three of those went to a penalty shootout
- Aleksei Miranchuk scored their lone goal on Wednesday, he has three goals in his last four games overall
WHAT TO EXPECT?
The pressure is on Atlanta United after another loss, and they must win if they want to stay alive in Leagues Cup as they will face a Pumas squad that are determined to add more points this Saturday at Inter&Co Stadium at 8:30 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.
Ronny Deila and the rest of his team are really feeling it after another devastating loss in the year, when Club Necaxa dominated them in their first game of the tournament. These past couple of months have been very complicated for Atlanta, as their last win came on May 28 and whether it is not holding on to leads or falling short on comebacks, the backline has been the main problem and changes are expected once again.
Pumas should take advantage of this with their speedy players like Álvaro Angulo, Pedro Vite and Adalberto Carrasquilla who scored against Orlando City in their tournament opener. Even though Atlanta United has gotten eight goals in their last five games, the fact that Keylor Navas is now the Universitarios goalkeeper needs to be considered.
The Costa Rica international brings experience that has been showed already as he had a clean sheet in his Liga MX debut with the team and only allowed one goal in his Leagues Cup debut; Pumas had allowed six goals in their first two games in the semester without Navas.
While Pumas is the favorite in this one, there is no question that Atlanta United will present a very tough challenge for them as they are in a must-win situation trying to stay alive in a prestigious international tournament that gives a very important ticket to the Concacaf Champions Cup.
