Veteran goalkeeper Brad Guzan won’t be making the trip north of the border when Atlanta United plays Saturday at Toronto FC.
Guzan suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in last weekend’s 1-1 draw with New York City FC at Yankee Stadium and is expected to miss 10-12 weeks.
Offseason signee Quentin Westberg, who has made 68 MLS regular-season appearances, is expected to man the net for Atlanta (4-1-2, 14 points).
“He has a lot of experience,” Five Stripes coach Gonzalo Pineda said. “He’s a solid replacement for Brad. You can see the leadership that Brad brings, but (Westberg) has some composure in his game that I think is going to help the team solve some problems. We’re confident in him.”
Westberg will be familiar with his surroundings at BMO Field, as he spent the previous four seasons with Toronto.
“Toronto is probably the stadium I know the most in MLS, so the environment won’t be that new or that exceptional to me,” Westberg said. “They have a lot of quality players, a lot of clinical players in front, guys that can adapt tactically and have a ton of experience. But there are downsides to their qualities also that we can exploit.”
Toronto (1-1-5, 8 points) is unbeaten in six straight matches, though five of those — including the past three — have ended in draws. That includes a scoreless tie last week in Nashville.
“Our next step is knowing how to take three points,” Toronto coach Bob Bradley said. “(To) finish off a play or two when we get the opportunities. But the overall way of going about things … was quite good.”
This will be the second meeting between the Eastern Conference rivals this season. They played to a 1-1 draw March 4 at Atlanta, with Toronto’s Federico Bernardeschi scoring early in the second half and Atlanta’s Matheus Rossetto getting the equalizer. Giorgos Giakoumakis, making his Five Stripes debut, appeared to put Atlanta ahead late but his goal was wiped out because of an offside call.
Toronto leads the all-time series against Atlanta 5-4-5.
–Field Level Media