Atlanta United vs. Minnesota United: 5 questions

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MARCH 12: Michael Parkhurst #3 of Atlanta United FC challenges Christian Ramirez #21 of Minnesota United FC for the ball during the first half of the match on March 12, 2017 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Credit: Hannah Foslien

Credit: Hannah Foslien

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MARCH 12: Michael Parkhurst #3 of Atlanta United FC challenges Christian Ramirez #21 of Minnesota United FC for the ball during the first half of the match on March 12, 2017 at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Atlanta United will play Minnesota United at 8 p.m. Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium.

It's going to be cold. The game will be broadcast on MLS Live and can be heard on 92.9FM.

The Five Stripes have won two consecutive games while Minnesota United’s two-game winning streak was snapped in a 3-0  loss to New York Red Bulls.

Meg Ryan, who covers the Loons for the Star Tribune, answered five questions about Saturday’s matchup:

Q. Minnesota United didn't look great during the preseason, won two of its first three games in regular season, and then lost to Red Bulls. Is this year's team better than last year's?

A. The short answer is yes. Miraculously better? No. But definitely improved.

To be honest, there wasn’t a lot farther for them to fall from last season after allowing a league record 70 goals. You saw the team slowly pull it together toward the end after making some roster changes and such. With an entire offseason to actually methodically plan, the expectation was the team would be better than last year. But the club couldn’t quite pull off the moves it wanted to, and with that season-ending injury to Kevin Molino, the depth is looking shaky again.

More players are going to be added which will help that, but I would hazard this team is just going be fighting to sneak into the playoffs.

Q. Any chance of seeing a Christian Ramirez/Abu Danladi partnership up top on Saturday?

A. Yes, there's a possibility. Coach Adrian Heath wasn't super pleased with the lack of effort against the Red Bulls and threatened some lineup changes to give players that haven't had much opportunity to play a chance to show they care more than last week's starters. So we'll see.

The attack has looked decent up until this past game, so I think making overhaul changes might be a little hasty. But mixing in a different winger or trying for a two-forward system might be the trick.

Q. Can Miguel Ibarra, assuming he's in the middle, handle Miguel Almiron's speed if Atlanta United goes back to a 4-2-3-1?

A. Can anyone handle Almiron's speed is the real question here.

Ibarra will do his best, but I think it’ll be a whole team effort to stop Atlanta’s fast offense.

Almiron was a problem that fateful snow opener, but the Loons did get the best of Atlanta this past October when he wasn’t playing. So it’ll be a challenge.

Q. Where did last year's game rank for you in terms of uniqueness?

A. Oh, very high. I'd hazard it was possibly the most memorable home opener of all time in MLS.

The crazy weather, Hotlanta winning 6-1 despite it, the record United crowd.

It was incredibly unique with all those factors colliding and would be hard to manifest again.

Q. What is the key matchup in this game?

A. This isn't really a matchup per se, but I'm #JosefMartinezHatTrickRecordWatch2k18. His first one in MLS came a year ago at Minnesota, and he's one away from tying the league record of five when he's played only 23 matches. So, I think the Loons will be looking to prevent that and stay out of another negative league record from their perspective.