Atlanta United will look to acquire new players during the summer transfer window, but before then, Tata Martino said his team must remain competitive until the World Cup break.

Martino’s second stint with the Five Stripes has failed to get going, with Atlanta registering just one win from their opening six league matches of the season.

Having lost their opening three games, Atlanta responded by going unbeaten in their next two, only to fall to a 3-1 defeat to the Columbus Crew last time out.

Atlanta made 12 signings ahead of the campaign, headlined by Tomas Jacob's switch from Necaxa, though Martino believes his squad still needs further reinforcements.

"We understand we have an important break for the World Cup this season and also the summer transfer window that will open," Martino said.

"We'll be open to new signings and paying attention in that window, but I also think we need to be a solid team from now and through all the games up until that point.

"When you’re looking to sign new players, the most important thing isn't the economic impact or the city, it's more about the team and the team being competitive."

Wessam Abou Ali's double put Columbus in control, and though Aleksey Miranchuk's goal reduced the deficit, Max Arfsten's goal a minute later sealed the win for the Crew.

It was a game in which Atlanta had their chances, as they registered an expected goals (xG) total of 1.24 from their seven shots, to Columbus' 1.46 from 16 attempts.

Martino was questioned about what his team had been working on ahead of their trip to the Chicago Fire this weekend, but he did not want to get too specific.

"There was not one particular trait that we focused on during this time," Martino said. "In general, we looked at the team play and the build-up and how to recover the ball.

"It was more working on things generally than focusing on one thing. This will be a different version of Chicago this time around. They have improved a lot."

Chicago, meanwhile, claimed a notable scalp in their last league match, downing Nashville SC 1-0 thanks to Philip Zinckernagel's goal after just 14 seconds at Soldier Field.

Gregg Berhalter's men are fifth in the Eastern Conference with 10 points from their opening six matches, six points and seven places above this weekend's opponents.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Chicago Fire – Philip Zinckernagel

Zinckernagel scored the lone goal in the Fire's win last Saturday, his 16th goal to go along with 15 assists since the start of last season.

The Dane is one of four players, along with Lionel Messi, Anders Dreyer and Evander, with at least 15 goals and 15 assists since the start of the 2025 MLS season.

Atlanta United – Aleksey Miranchuk

Miranchuk has scored four of Atlanta's first six goals of the season, including netting against Columbus in their last MLS clash.  

This marks the third straight year that one player has netted four of Atlanta's first six goals of the season, after Emmanuel Latte Lath in 2025 and Giorgos Giakoumakis in 2024. 

MATCH PREDICTION: CHICAGO FIRE WIN

The visiting side has managed just one win in 17 all-time regular-season meetings between Chicago and Atlanta, with that victory being secured by the Five Stripes in May 2018.

The 5.9% road win rate is the third lowest of any matchup played 15 or more times in the post-shoot-out era (since 2000), but that is not the only thing in Chicago's favour.

Berhalter's side have, however, lost only three of their last 12 regular-season home matches (W7 D2) dating back to late June, scoring at least once in all 12 of those matches.

This is the Fire's longest run of home games with a goal since a 14-match stretch from August 2019 to April 2021.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Chicago Fire – 60.7%

Draw – 20.7%

Atlanta United – 18.7%