Ronny Deila insisted there is "no place to hide" for his Atlanta United team as they look to turn their poor MLS form around against Austin FC this week.

The Five Stripes are without a win in their last six league games, with their latest defeat coming against the Chicago Fire, as Deila continues to struggle in his early tenure. 

Atlanta are 14th in the Eastern Conference after 12 games, and Deila has urged his squad to improve their accountability, communication and consistency moving forward.

He also mentioned Emmanuel Latte Lath, Miguel Almiron and Alexey Miranchuk as players he is looking at to lead a turnaround offensively.

"There's no place to hide," Deila said. "We need to stand up as a group and show that we want it and that we are able to do it.

"The only way forward now is to talk together, to find relations and we agree. That's what we're doing, because if we're going to be a top team, we need those three guys up front together, they need to be accountable for these things.

"There's a line between being demanding and also loving. I think those two things [are] difficult in these kinds of periods. It's next that's most important. What is done is done."

Austin are enduring similar struggles to their midweek opponents, with Los Verde three league games without a win and have taken just four points in their last six matches.

They were beaten 2-1 by FC Cincinnati in their last MLS encounter, despite more than matching the Eastern Conference leaders at the TQL Stadium.  

Austin are entering a busy period, with three-game weeks soon to be the norm for the team, and head coach Nico Estevez conceded he will have many sleepless nights during this run of games.

"It takes a lot of hours and not a lot of sleeping," Estevez said. "A lot of work but we love this job, we love this way to do things, and I can't wait to start preparing for the next one.

"But it's always difficult, but it is something that we do with the energy that we need to try and combat the challenges that we have right now.

"It's also a really good time to embrace what has happened to us. It is a good moment to take this as a challenge and something we can use to get better and stronger from here."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Austin – Brandon Vazquez

Though Austin have struggled in front of goal, they have international quality up front in Vazquez, who has three goals in 11 MLS appearances so far this season.

He has two goals in nine games against Atlanta, but has been on the winning side in just one of those matches (D4 L4), though he will be out to change that this week.

Atlanta United – Miguel Almiron

Deila put emphasis on his Atlanta forwards to guide his team through their current sticky patch, and Almiron will be looking to lead from the front.

He has three goals in 11 appearances since his return to the club, and also had team-high totals in their defeat to Chicago for successful dribbles (two) and shots (four).

MATCH PREDICTION: AUSTIN WIN

The only previous meeting between Austin and Atlanta was a 3-0 victory for Austin on the road in July 2022. The three-goal margin is the largest margin of defeat in a home match for the Five Stripes in MLS play.

Atlanta, however, have only one point in their five away matches this regular season (D1 L4), including losing the last three in a row on the road. The Five Stripes have won just four of their last 26 regular-season away matches dating back to September 2023.

Austin, meanwhile, have lost just once in 11 all-time home games against Eastern Conference opponents (W6 D4). They have scored multiple goals in eight of those 11 matches, including in each of the last four.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Austin – 46.4%

Draw – 26.5%

Atlanta United – 27%