USMNT Aug 23-25 viewing guide and open thread

It’s rivalry week in the MLS and there are a number of regional match-ups throughout the weekend, including six on national TV. Add to that another seven nationally televised games being played across Europe and you have a weekend full of viewing options for people trying to find a glimpse of USMNT players in action with their club teams. Here’s what you can watch:

Friday

Portland Timbers v Seattle Sounders - 10p on ESPN

Portland and Seattle face off late Friday in Portland in what seems sure to be an exciting match between Western Conference playoff contenders and pacific northwest rivals. It’s apparently Seattle’s turn to win as the teams have alternated victories their past five matches with Portland winning most recently in July.

Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan will see the field for Seattle who are coming off a 2-2 draw with the LA Galaxy while Jorge Villafana and Jeremy Ebobisse are likely to see time for a Portland team coming off a 2-0 loss to Atlanta.

Other Notes:

• Orlando City and Atlanta United meet at 8p on ESPN. Most of the USMNT action will be on the one side of the ball as Darlington Nagbe, Brad Guzan, Miles Robinson and Emerson are all likely to see time for Atlanta.

Saturday

Fortuna Dusseldorf v Bayer Leverkusen - 9:30a on FS1

Zack Steffen will look to follow up his man of the match performance last weekend with Fortuna Dusseldorf when the team meets Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday morning. It was a fantastic start to the season for Steffen as his 10 saves led Dusseldorf to a 3-1 win over Werder Bremen in their season opener. Steffen will look to build on that this week when the team meets Bayer Leverkusen who are coming off a 3-2 win over SC Paderborn. Also joining Steffen will be Alfredo Morales who went 90’ in the teams opener last weekend.

Other Notes:

• Christian Pulisic will look to rebound from a rough outing when Chelsea face Norwich City at 7:30a on NBCSN.
• Fabian Johnson has been seeing regular minutes as a sub for a Borussia Monchengladbach team that has top four aspirations this season. They play Mainz 05 at 9:30a on FS2.
• Weston McKennie and Schalke will need to create some offense if they’re going to keep up with Bayern Munich when the teams meet at 12:30p on FS1.
• New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls meet at 7p on ESPN2. Keaton Parks has been seeing regular minutes for NYCFC, for the Red Bulls keep an eye on Aaron Long.

Sunday

Hertha Berlin v Wolfsburg - Noon on FS1

John Brooks and Wolfsburg got their 2019-20 campaign off to a solid start last weekend with a 2-1 win over FC Koln and will look to build on that this weekend when they take on Hertha Berlin. Brooks had a nearly injury free season last year but was unfortunately injured towards the end of the season and forced to miss the Gold Cup. Thankfully Brooks is back to full health and looking ahead to another solid year in the Bundesliga.

Other Notes:

• RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt meet at 9:30a on FS1. Tyler Adams is still 2-3 weeks from a return from his adductor injury but Timothy Chandler should be available for Eintracht Frankfurt though he has seen limited minutes for the club thus far this season.
• DeAndre Yedlin also continues to recover from injury and will not be available when Newcastle meet Tottenham at 11:30a on NBCSN,
• FC Cincinnati and the Columbus Crew meet at 6p on FS1 with Gyasi Zardes and Wil Trapp likely to see time for Columbus.
• FC Dallas and the Huston Dynamo play at 8p on FS1. Paxton Pomykal leads the way for Dallas who’s youth movement also includes Brandon Servania, Edwin Cerrillo, Reggie Cannon, Jesse Gonzalez, and perhaps even Ricardo Pepi.
• In the nightcap the Los Angeles Football Club and the Los Angeles Galaxy face off at 10:30p on FS1. Walker Zimmerman continues to lead the LAFC defense while Joe Corona will likely see time for the Galaxy.

Let us know what you’ll be watching this busy weekend in the comments section below.