Toronto FC vs Atlanta United Prediction: Insigne on target against depleted visitors

BMO Field is the venue for Atlanta United's second away trip of the 2024 MLS season, with a resurgent Toronto FC acting as their hosts in Ontario, Canada on Saturday (KO, 23:30).

Below is our Toronto FC vs Atlanta United prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds ahead of this weekend's fixture.

Team News

Toronto only have one player - Deybi Flores (Honduras) - missing due to an international call-up this week, with Italian duo Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi no longer in the national team set-up after making the move to MLS.

Former Newcastle United midfielder Matty Longstaff is a doubt after being substituted at half-time of last week's 2-1 defeat to New York City with a knock while Richie Laryea, who hasn't appeared since the opening day of the campaign, is to undergo hamstring surgery in the next few days.

Atlanta have been hit much harder by the internationals with four starters - Thiago Almada (Argentina U23), Giorgos Giakoumakis (Greece), Bastosz Slisz (Poland) and Caleb Wiley (USA U23) - all having departed.

Luis Abram (Peru) and Ajani Fortune (Trinidad & Tobago) have also been called up by their nations, leaving Gonzalo Pineda with a threadbare squad.

Ronald Hernandez, Dax McCarty, Edwin Mosquera and Jamal Thiare are among those pushing for starts in the absence of the aforementioned six.

Match Odds

The Reds are 6/5 - or a 45.5% chance - to win again at BMO Field after beating Charlotte FC there two weeks ago, while the visitors are priced at 15/8 - or a 34.8% chance - to win their first away game of the season.

The draw can be backed at 9/4, both teams to score is 8/15 and it's 8/13 for over 2.5 goals.

Lorenzo Insigne to score anytime @ 7/4

The Italian endured a dismal 2023 as he only managed four goals and five assists en route to the Canadian club finishing bottom of the Eastern Conference. It looked like the diminutive playmaker could be on his way out but the arrival of John Herdman as head coach looks to have given him a new lease of life, and he has already scored in two of his first four games this season.

One of those efforts came in Toronto's only home match so far, a 1-0 win over Charlotte FC on March 9. He looks a good price to find the net again at BMO Field against an under-strength Atlanta United side.

Toronto FC to win @ 6/5

The absence of Almada and Giakoumakis - arguably the division's most creative outlet and prolific goalscorer respectively - is sure to hit Atlanta hard in attack on Saturday, while midfielder Slisz and full-back Wiley are also big misses for the Five Stripes.

On the other hand, Toronto have a near full-strength team to choose from and appear rejuvenated under Herdman. Insigne and Bernardeschi can do damage to any side in MLS when they are in the mood, and this should be an occasion they rise to this weekend.

Atlanta's track record in this fixture won't do much to encourage the away side either. In seven matches at BMO Field, Atlanta have won just once, a 2-0 victory back in October 2021, and they could only claim a point against the division's worst side last year, drawing 2-2 in April 2023, and that was with the likes of Giakoumakis and Wiley.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.