USMNT midweek viewing guide: Champions League group stage kicks off

The UEFA Champions League group stage begins this week! Twelve Americans are slated to play in the world’s top club competition. The USMNT tweet below requires two updates, as Chris Richards has been loaned back to Hoffenheim, so he won’t be playing with Bayern, and Romain Gall has returned to Malmö from loan, so he could be involved. However, we have injury problems, with Pulisic, Reyna, Steffen, and Weah all likely out this week, and Dest questionable.

We also have Europa League action, MLS, Liga MX, and a CCL semifinal. I count nine Americans in Europa League: McKenzie, Yedlin, Konrad, Vines, CCV, Chandler, Ledezma, Wingo, and Cappis.

Let’s get into it! Here’s a snapshot of USMNT players in action. Injured players are highlighted in red, dual nationals in blue.

Tuesday

• Young Boys v Manchester United, 12:45p on TUDN, UniMás, Paramount+, fuboTV (free trial): Jordan Pefok and Young Boys start their Champions League campaign off at home against Cristiano Ronaldo and the Red Devils.
• Sevilla v RB Salzburg, 12:45p on Galavision, Paramount+, fuboTV, Sling TV: Brenden Aaronson and Salzburg travel to Andalusia for their first Champions League fixture.
• FC Barcelona v Bayern Munich, 3p on TUDN, UniMás, Paramount+, fuboTV: Sergiño Dest has been declared fully fit as Barça host Bayern, with some reports saying he will be an option off the bench. Taylor Booth trained with Bayern in the lead-up but is not included in their travel squad; recent Germany U20 callup Malik Tillman is.
• Lille v Wolfsburg, 3p on Paramount+, fuboTV: John Brooks and Wolfsburg face Lille in their Champions League opener. Lille will likely be without Tim Weah due to the injury that kept him out of the September MNT camp.
• Malmö v Juventus FC, 3p on Paramount+, fuboTV: Weston McKennie and Juventus travel to Sweden to take on Malmö. Romain Gall is back with Malmö after a loan was cut short, but hasn’t played for them in over 18 months.
• NYCFC v FC Dallas, 7:30p on ESPN+ (free trial), fcdallas.com: Many of MLS’s brightest young talents will be on display as the Huntsmen travel to the Big Apple, including Ricardo Pepi, Jesus Ferreira, Paxton Pomykal, and Justin Che. James Sands and Keaton Parks could play for the Pigeons.
• Seattle Sounders v Santos Laguna, 10p on ESPN2, TUDN, fuboTV, Sling TV: Cristian Roldan is likely to feature for Seattle in this Leagues Cup semifinal, while Jordan Morris is back in training. Santos Laguna would normally feature young Mexican-USA striker Santi Muñoz, but he is on loan at Newcastle.

Also in action:

• Maccabi Haifa v Feyenoord, 10:30a on Paramount+, fuboTV: Josh Cohen begins Conference League play.
• Blackpool v Huddersfield, 2:45p: Duane Holmes in play for Huddersfield.
• Sheffield United v Preston North End, 2:45p: Matt Olosunde travels to Sheffield United.
• Chelsea v Zenit St. Petersburg, 3p on Galavision, Paramount+, fuboTV, Sling TV: Chelsea host Zenit without Christian Pulisic, as he recovers from the injury he suffered against Honduras.
• Columbus Crew SC v New York Red Bulls, 7:30p on ESPN+, fuboTV: Gyasi Zardes is back from injury, and could face Caden Clark and John Tolkin.
• León v Pumas UNAM, 11p on ESPN+, fuboTV: Sebastian Saucedo and Pumas travel to Guanajuato.

Wednesday

• Manchester City v RB Leipzig, 3p on Paramount+, fuboTV: Tyler Adams and Leipzig take on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who will likely be without Zack Steffen as he continues COVID protocols.
• Philadelphia Union v Club América, 9p on FS1, TUDN, fuboTV, Sling TV: The Philadelphia menagerie of teenage American hopefuls hosts Las Águilas in the CCL semifinal second leg, trailing 0-2 after the reverse fixture at Estadio Azteca. Youngsters include Anthony Fontana, Leon Flach, Paxten Aaronson, Jack McGlynn, and Quinn Sullivan.

Also in action:

• Beşiktaş v Borussia Dortmund, 12:45p on TUDN, UniMás, Paramount+, fuboTV: BVB begin their Champions League campaign without Gio Reyna, who is likely to miss several weeks due to the injury he suffered with the US.
• Birmingham City v Fulham FC, 2:45p: Antonee Robinson and Tim Ream have enjoyed a flying start to life back in the Championship. Could Marlon Fossey make the leap from the U23s to join them in the first team soon?
• Nottingham Forest v Middlesbrough, 2:45p: Ethan Horvath hopes to steal minutes from Brice Samba as Forest host Boro.
• Club Brugge v PSG, 3p on TUDN, Univision, Paramount+, fuboTV: Owen Otasowie has made the bench for Brugge once, but has yet to play. They host Messi, Neymar, and Mbappe in their Champions League opener.
• Banfield v Rosario Central, 5:45p on Paramount+, Fanatiz, fuboTV, Sling TV: Joel Soñora and Banfield have only 9 points from 10 games.
• Atlanta United v FC Cincinnati, 7p on ESPN+, fuboTV, Sling TV, fccincinnati.com: Miles Robinson and George Bello host Cincy at the Benz.
• DC United v Chicago Fire, 7:30p on ESPN+, fuboTV, dcunited.com, chicagofirefc.com: Paul Arriola is back from injury, and will team up with Kevin Paredes as they host the Fire.
• Orlando City v CF Montréal, 7:30p on ESPN+: Daryl Dike will be looking for goals at home.
• Austin FC v LAFC, 9p: Tomás Romero continues to mind the net for LAFC, this time away at Q2 Stadium.
• Portland Timbers v Colorado Rapids, 10p on ESPN+: Kellyn Acosta and Cole Bassett travel to Providence Park to take on the sadly Eryk Williamson-less Timbers.
• LA Galaxy v Houston Dynamo, 10:30p on ESPN+: Sebastian Lletget and Julian Araujo host Tab Ramos’ Dynamo.
• San Jose Earthquakes v Real Salt Lake, 10:30p on ESPN+, fuboTV: Cade Cowell and Jackson Yueill host RSL.

Thursday

• Galatasaray v Lazio, 12:45p on TUDN, Paramount+, fuboTV: DeAndre Yedlin and Galatasaray begin their Europa League campaign at home against the Serie A side.
• Lokomotiv Moscow v Marseille, 12:45p on Paramount+, fuboTV: Konrad de la Fuente and Marseille make the long journey into Russia as they begin Europa League.
• Real Betis v Celtic, 12:45p on Galavision, Paramount+, fuboTV, Sling TV: Cameron Carter-Vickers scored a nice goal via deflection for Celtic at the weekend. He’ll get his first taste of Europa League action away to Betis, as his parent club Tottenham could only manage the Conference League this season.
• Rapid Wien v Genk, 12:45p on Paramount+, fuboTV: Mark McKenzie and Genk make the trip to Vienna as they open the Europa League.
• Brøndby v Sparta Prague, 3p on Paramount+, fuboTV: Christian Cappis and Brøndby were unceremoniously dismissed from Champions League contention by Brenden Aaronson and Salzburg. They now begin Europa League business at home against the Czech side.
• Roma v CSKA Sofia, 3p: Bryan Reynolds and Roma get Europa League proceedings on their way.

Also in action:

• Kairat Almaty v Omonia Nicosia, 10:30a on Paramount+, fuboTV: Mix Diskerud and Omonia begin Conference League play.
• Bayer Leverkusen v Ferencváros, 12:45p on Paramount+, fuboTV: Henry Wingo and Ferencváros take on Bundesliga side Leverkusen as they begin Europe League themselves.
• PSV v Real Sociedad, 3p on Galavision, Paramount+, fuboTV, Sling TV: PSV will begin Europa League without Richie Ledezma, who is still working his way back from injury.
• Eintracht Frankfurt v Fenerbahçe. 3p on Paramount+, fuboTV: Timmy Chandler and Frankfurt face Mesut Ozil and Fenerbahçe in their Europa League opener.
• Olympiacos v Antwerp, 3p on Paramount+, fuboTV: Antwerp begin Europa League play without Sam Vines, who is expected to be out several months due to injury.

That’s it! Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments below. Let’s see who impresses this week!