How long is Thiago Almada’s red card suspension?

Atlanta United will be without Thiago Almada for their MLS Cup Playoffs opener after the Argentine picked up a red card in their final game of the regular season.

Almada has been in scintillating form this season, recording a league-high 19 assists and scoring 11 goals from midfield. The 22-year-old is a key component in Gonzalo Pineda’s free-scoring Atlanta side.

However he will miss the first game of the team’s best-of-three series against Columbus Crew after a petulant kick out in their Decision Day fixture. Almada, who had already been cautioned, tripped Yerson Mosquera in an off-the-ball incident and was given a second yellow card.

The Argentine was subsequently issued an additional fine for failing to leave the field in a timely manner after being dismissed. However the MLS Disciplinary Committee opted not to extend his one-match suspension, meaning that he will return for the second fixture against Columbus.

Who will Atlanta United start in place of Almada?

Almada is not only the team’s creative spark but also a very reliable presence at the tip of the Atlanta midfield. He started in 31 of Atlanta’s 34 regular season matches and plays a key role in the team’s in-possession game.

“It’s really hard to replicate exactly the quality that Thiago has,” head coach Gonzalo Pineda admitted. “So we have to rely more on the team, on playing as a team.”

“It changes the game plan. How we press, how we occupy the spaces, how we are gonna create the gaps that we normally try to create in the positional shapes,” he added.

After Almada was dismissed against Cincinnati Georgian midfielder Saba Lobzhanidze was introduced from the substitutes’ bench. The 28-year-old typically plays off the left wing but he too has featured in more central roles, and has scored three times in his first eight appearances for Atlanta.

Wednesday’s game at Lower.com Field brings together the two teams with the best regular season offensive records. Atlanta United’s Giorgos GIakoumakis has scored 17 MLS goals in his debut season, but it remains to be seen how he will perform without the team’s creator-in-chief.

Ahead of the game, Pineada said: “It’s a good battle in terms of tactics, in terms of players as well. Like the characteristics of players, some of them are very similar... Similar rosters, similar ideas, similar identities.”