WHO: Atlanta United 2, 1-0-0, 3 points, 3rd place Eastern Conference

WHAT: A regular season USL Championship match

WHEN: Today/Friday, March 15, THE IDES OF MARCH, 2019, 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Fifth Third Bank Stadium, 3200 George Busbee Parkway NW, Kennesaw, GA 30144

WATCH: on WBKI-58 or on ESPN+, or you can repay Kevin Kernen for his herculean efforts of riding a damn bicycle from Louisville to Kennesaw and listen to his breathless play-by-play radio call on whatever iHeart radio station they relegate him to.

WHO, AGAIN? Atlanta had a pretty good showing in their season opener against Hartford with a fairly comfortable 2-0 home win. Jon Gallagher re-signed with the ATL organization and scored in the 30′, while Brandon Vàzquez iced the game in the 80′. The Lil’ Five Stripes are led this season by Stephen Glass, about whom I know basically zero.

If we assume Atlanta 2 is designed to play like Atlanta 1, then this might not be a bad squad for Morados to get well against after last week’s debacle. Tata Martino is in Mexico now, and new senior team manager Frank de Boer’s 3-4-3 system hasn’t exactly taken root in the Peach State yet, with the possible exception of Wednesday’s 1-0 win in the CONCACAF Champions League over Monterrey.

The early (and loud) critics of de Boer point out that his 3-4-3 at Atlanta (and his prior two stops) is really soft in the center, which is exactly what Louisville City wants to hear. The center forward is often way too disconnected from the central midfielders that are supposed to get him the ball. Whether that actually plays out with the 2 team remains to be seen, though they appeared to be playing that system last week.

Players to watch: Jon Gallagher, Paul Pogba’s older, less talented brother Florentin, and somehow George Bello might be on this team tonight. Ugh.

I expect Louisville City to play the same starting lineup they did last week, but certainly hope to see a tactical tweak or maybe some recognition by the players that leaving the central defense on an island is to be avoided. Let’s go City.

VAMOS MORADOS, VAMOS A GANAR!