Last season, Atlanta United finished in second place in the Eastern Conference in their defence of the crown they won in 2018. They comfortably made it to the playoffs, albeit missing out on the chance to top the East for the second year in a row.
In the playoffs, they got past the New England Revolution by a single goal in the first round, before then overcoming the Philadelphia Union, another of the sides who could have finished top of the East. However, the postseason came to an end in the Conference Finals when they lost to Toronto FC.