Major League Soccer’s national punditry and local experts have cast Atlanta United FC as favorites in Saturday 2018 MLS Cup (5pm PT, FOX), and with good reason. Since the franchise debuted at the dawn of the 2017 season, head coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino’s team has proved among the most potent and organized in MLS. In hindsight, only the inexperience inherent in a first-year squad kept the Five Stripes from MLS Cup’s heights in their first season.
That reality was affirmed during the last two weeks, when Atlanta never trailed the Supporters’ Shield-winning New York Red Bulls over two legs, leading for almost two hours while eliminating the East’s frontrunner, 3-1 (agg.