Home Away From Home | Materials of The Match: Charlotte FC at Atlanta United

For the third time in 2026, The Battle of the South is here. The Crown will be looking to claim its first victory over Atlanta United after dropping a result in the U.S. Open Cup and splitting points in its first match back out of the World Cup break.

Charlotte is riding a three-match unbeaten streak with two wins and a draw, while Atlanta has won each of their last three matches with a 2-1 scoreline, setting up an exciting, momentum-fueled edition of the rivalry matchup.

Let’s take a look at the Materials of the Match presented by Rubbermaid to see how The Crown can come out on top in this meeting of the Southern Rivalry:

Home Away From Home

While Charlotte sees much of its positive results at Bank of America Stadium, its home away from home can be found at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Crown has posted a 3W-1L-0D record at Atlanta since joining MLS in 2022, outscoring the 5-Stripes with 10 goals scored vs. seven allowed. That is in no small part to Charlotte’s faithful supporters, who have shown out in droves each trip down to the Peach State. Midfielder Pep Biel spoke on this during his midweek press conference, expressing how much of a boost it provides the team and how proud it makes him feel.

Pep Chasing History

Speaking of the Mallorcan Magician, Biel continues to inch closer to etching his name in the CLTFC history books with his stellar run of form. With his 11^th goal and eighth assist of the season against D.C. United last Saturday, Biel notched his 12^th multi-goal contribution match since joining The Crown. His 46-goal contribution tally (23G+23A) is now two away from tying the Club’s all-time leader Karol Swiderski, as well as sitting one goal shy of tying Swiderski’s regular-season goal record of 12. With two goals and two assists against Atlanta all-time, Biel will certainly be one to watch in Saturday’s matchup as he chases history.

Finding Form

While winger Liel Abada may not have been finding his way on the stat sheet often during the first half of the 2026 campaign, the World Cup break has rejuvenated the winger. In his last seven matches, the winger has tallied seven goal contributions (3G+4A) across all competitions, three of which were match-winning. Looking further at his history against Atlanta, Abada leads the all-time series with three goals, with his most recent coming in July in a 2-2 draw at Bank of America, on top of his brace at Atlanta in 2024.

Whether coming off the bench or earning a nod to the starting XI, Abada has found a way to leave his mark on matches as of late and will certainly look to do so against Charlotte’s rivals.