By Canadian Press

Toronto FC looks forward to Atlanta test in MLS regular season finale

Oct 20, 2017 | 9:30 AM

TORONTO — With a record crowd and motivated opponent, Sunday’s MLS regular-season finale in Atlanta is just what Toronto FC wants ahead of the playoffs.

Iron sharpens iron. And Atlanta United, an explosive expansion team that leads the league with 46 home goals this season, will be a tough test.

“It’ll be a big crowd and feel like a big occasion,” said Toronto captain Michael Bradley. “They have a good team and a lot to play for.”

Unlike its four nearest playoff-bound teams in the East and the eight clubs chasing six post-season berths in the West, there is no drama on Decision Day for league-leading Toronto (20-5-8).

With home-field advantage and a bye in the first round of the playoffs already assured, Toronto is simply looking to hit high gear and end the regular season on a record note.

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A win or tie Sunday and Toronto will set a league single-season points record. Toronto is currently tied with the 1998 Los Angeles Galaxy at 68 points, although that team reached its tally in two fewer games in the shootout era.

“I can say we didn’t set out to get that (points) goal at the beginning of the season,” said defender Eriq Zavaleta. “But now that we’re at 68 points, why not?

Toronto can also set a record for most wins in the non-shootout era (since 2000). It is currently tied with the 2014 Seattle Sounders at 20.

Fourth-place Atlanta (15-9-9) is looking to make history of its own Sunday.

It is expected to set league records for highest attendance in a single game and single season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. More than 70,000 tickets have been sold already for the Toronto game, adding to the 747,530 who have already come through the turnstiles this season.

Atlanta has clinched a playoff spot but needs a win to secure home-field advantage in the single-elimination knockout round. Given the right set of weekend results, it could climb to second place in the East and avoid the knockout round.

Atlanta is winless in its last three outings (0-1-2) but is 5-1-4 over its last 10, during which it has outscored its opposition 26-8. It has posted five shutouts in its last six games and seven in its last nine.

Goalkeeper Brad Guzan is coming off his fifth straight shutout, extending his personal shutout streak to 482 minutes — 10th longest in league history.

At the other end of the field, Atlanta’s Josef Martinez — with 18 goals in 19 games — has a chance to join former Montreal forward Didier Drogba as the only players in MLS history to score a goal or better a game (among players with at least five goals in a season).

Combine Martinez with fellow forward Hector Villalba (13 goals, 10 assists) and midfield playmakers Miguel Almiron (nine goals, 13 assists) and Yamil Asad (six goals, 13 assists), and you have a potent Atlanta attack.

Atlanta showed its teeth in a 2-2 draw in Toronto in April that saw the Toronto defence ripped open twice.

“They’re fast going forward. They counter quickly,” said Zavaleta. They know who they are and they have some good quality in the attacking half. If you make mistakes, they punish you. And that’s what good teams do.”

Toronto’s 1-0 win over Montreal last weekend snapped a rare two-game losing run.

Toronto, the first team to clinch a spot in the playoffs this season, has already set franchise records for goals scored (72), shutouts (13), home wins (13), home points (42), road victories (7) and road points (26). With 35 goals conceded, TFC is on pace to set a club record for fewest goals allowed (current record is 39, set in 2016). 

It is also the first club in league history to have two six-match winning streaks in a single season.

Toronto is already assured of becoming just the third team in league history to average at least two points a game. And it currently ranks second all-time in single-season goal differential at 37 behind the ’98 Galaxy (41).

Toronto’s only roster question is whether to play Steven Beitashour or Nicolas Hasler at right fullback. Both bring their own skill set, with Beitashour offering elite defending — “the best defending right back in the league,” according to coach Greg Vanney — while Hasler can run at opponents and inject offence.

Individual form and the nature of the opponent may well determine which one plays, Vanney said. 

NOTES: Despite his two penalty misses last time out, Sebastian Giovinco remains Toronto’s penalty-taker, according to Vanney …. The TFC coach says Sunday’s artificial turf surface won’t play into his roster selection. “We’re past that at this stage now.”

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press