Starting XI and roster notes: Southern Showdown sees 5-Stripes shifting lineup

With one of their stars absent, Atlanta United is trying something new as they gear up for the Southern Showdown with Nashville SC. Miguel Almirón is unavailable with a knee injury, one that the club said would sideline him for 1-2 weeks. In his place, head coach Tata Martino brings in an additional midfielder to the fold. 

We'll see what shape the 5-Stripes take, but for now we know that four natural midfielders — Jay Fortune, Matías Galarza, Cooper Sanchez and Tristan Muyumba — will start for the 7:30 p.m. kickoff. 

Fortune and Galarza started Atlanta United's midweek match against Chattanooga FC, a 3-1 win in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Fortune is the only player in tonight's lineup who played a full 90 minutes in that match. 

Behind the midfield is the same backline from Atlanta United's previous MLS regular season lineup: Lucas Hoyos in goal with Tomás Jacob, Elías Báez, Stian Gregersen and Enea Mihaj in front of him. 

In attack, there's just two traditional forwards in Alexey Miranchuk and Emmanuel Latte Lath. How much support they get from the midfielders will be an interesting wrinkle to watch throughout the match against a defensively stout Nashville team. 

Here's the full starting XI for Atlanta United vs Nashville SC:

Lucas Hoyos, Tomás Jacob, Stian Gregersen, Enea Mihaj, Elías Báez, Tristan Muyumba, Jay Fortune, Matías Galarza, Cooper Sanchez, Alexey Miranchuk (C), Emmanuel Latte Lath

Reserves: Jayden Hibbert, Matt Edwards, Ronald Hernández, Juan Berrocal, Pedro Amador, Will Reilly, Saba Lobjanidze, Fafa Picault, Cayman Togashi

Roster Notes:

-- Jay Fortune is in line for his first MLS start since returning from his season-ending foot injury last season. The midfielder made his first appearance back against Columbus Crew on 404 Day.

-- Alexey Miranchuk captains the 5-Stripes for the second match in a row. The forward has scored a team-high 4 goals this season. 

-- Three of tonight's starters — Tomas Jacob, Matías Galarza and Elías Báez — have all won 8 or more tackles through the first four matches they have played for the club. Only three other players have achieved that mark in the club's history (Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, Tyrone Mears, Greg Garza).

-- Miguel Almirón was listed as unavailable on Friday's availability report. Atlanta United's number 10 is dealing with knee irritation after coming off in the club's midweek match.

-- The 5-Stripes are on just three days of rest after their match Wednesday, but under Martino, they've excelled at home on short rest. They've posted a record of 11-2-3 in 16 matches in 2017 and 2018, outscoring opponents 41-15 in those matches.

-- Atlanta United and Nashville haven't had much to separate them over the years. The 5-Stripes are 4-4-5 (W-L-D) in matches against their Southern rivals with each club scoring 20 goals total over those fixtures.