It’s one of the juiciest matchups of the early Major League Soccer season with New York City FC heading to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to meet Atlanta United on Sunday (6 pm ET | FS1) in what should be a high-flying showdown of attacking powerhouses.
And while NYCFC star forward David Villa was back in action in Wednesday's win over Real Salt Lake after missing three straight games due to injury, all eyes will be on his counterpart, Atlanta United forward Josef Martinez, who on Wednesday suffered an injury to his arm which left him in an aircast.
The Venezuelan international was back in training on Thursday, though his left arm was still in an aircast.
He could wear it in Sunday's match, if necessary. While the Laws of the Game don't make specific reference to casts, they do stipulate that protection can be worn to arms as long as they're made of soft, lightweight, padded material. The referee typically examines any casts prior to the roster exchange (about 60 minutes before kickoff) and makes the judgement as to whether the cast presents a danger to other players.
Martinez is looking to keep up a torrid scoring pace. He already has five goals in 2018, including one in the Five Stripes’ 5-0 victory over LAFC in Week 6. That goal helped him set a new record for the most tallies in league history (24) through 25 matches.
25 games. 24 goals.@JosefMartinez17 can't stop scoring. https://t.co/RiWSnS7UOI
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 12, 2018
MLS Fantasy Impact: If Martinez ($12.5m) misses any time, you could opt for Carlos Vela ($11.5) or David Villa ($11.3) at forward. Start playing!
