By Tim Childers (@childers1788 @1788sports)

After months of waiting, I finally get to say this beautiful sentence. Atlanta United soccer is back. After taking the league by storm last season, Atlanta looks to improve on their first round playoff exit at the hands of the Columbus Crew. The Five Stripes will start out their 2018 pre-season against the newly minted Nashville SC. While the newest member of the USL shouldn’t provide too much of a challenge for Atlanta, they do have a lot of adjustments to make after losing three starters from last season. Luckily for Atlanta, Darren Eales and Co. were able to replace the losses of Asad and Walkes by signing two new exciting South Americans in the form of fullback Franco Escobar and winger Ezequiel Barco. Here are five things to look for in Saturday’s match.

Barco Watch May Be Over, But Watch Barco Has Just Begun

After signing exciting South Americans in their inaugural season, many wondered how Atlanta United’s front office would top it. They did that and more by signing the 18 year old Barco from Independiente, where the teenager broke out as a number ten and later a left winger. The new signing has all the potential in the world, and should provide plenty of options to Tata Martino when it comes to filling the void created by Yamil Asad’s departure. Adding a player with as much attacking potential as Barco to the already stacked Atlanta United is borderline unfair, as he will join Almiron, Martinez and Villalba who formed one of the best attacks in the league last season.

Gressel and Nagbe Give Martino A Plethora of Options in Midfield

After a superb rookie season that culminated with winning the MLS Rookie of the Year award, Julian Gressel seemed to have the position of box-to-box midfielder locked down. That was, of course, before Eales went and traded for star midfielder Darlington Nagbe from Portland. An immigrant from Liberia, Nagbe made his name as a central part of Portland’s core that lifted the MLS Cup in 2015 before being naturalized and taking part in team USA’s ill-fated World Cup qualification attempt. Nagbe suffered mainly from inconsistent play over the past few years, so look for Martino to go to both Gressel and Nagbe throughout the season.

Larentowicz Takes Over Defensive Duties In Midfield

After returning to Chile to be with his expectant wife, Carlos Carmona has caused a void in Atlanta’s midfield. After being a rock in the middle of the field for the Five Stripes last season, Atlanta will need to find a replacement quickly to protect their back line. Luckily for them, they were able to re-sign veteran midfielder Jeff Larentowicz, who saw a good amount of time in the center of midfield over the last year. While Jeff Larentowicz has more than enough experience and is well accustomed to the way Atlanta plays, his age may be a deciding factor in the success of Atlanta’s defense.





Home Grown Youth May Finally Get Its Time To Shine

After seeing almost no field time during Atlanta’s inaugural season, look for the plethora of young talent to finally see some time as Martino experiments with squad depth. With the star-studded youth system that is headlined by the likes of the Ginger Assassin (colloquially known as Andrew Carleton) and Co. hopefully tearing up the USL for AU2, look to see some of the senior members get a shot on the big stage throughout the year.

Opportunity For Atlanta To Size Up Future Competition

When Nashville SC was officially announced to be a future MLS expansion team, many fans got excited. With the opportunity to add another southern team to Atlanta’s hitlist, Saturdays match offers a unique opportunity for both the current team as well as AU2. While Nashville will no doubt look different when they enter the MLS in a couple years, Atlanta United 2 will face them multiple times this year in the USL. Nashville seems to have all the makings of a quality club in the near future, and their fan base already makes them more likable than Orlando.