USMNT weekend viewing guide: head-to-head

A busy weekend of action starts right away with Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah both in action on Friday afternoon and continues through the weekend with head-to-head matchups in La Liga and the Bundesliga. Let’s see what we have in store:

Friday

Juventus v Torino - 2:45p on CBS Sports

Weston McKennie and Juventus maintained their hold on fourth place in Serie A last weekend when they played to a 1-1 draw with fifth place Atalanta. This weekend they will face 10th place Torino who have lost two straight matches first to Udinese and last weekend to Venezia though they out shot and out possessed them by a healthy margin. Juventus will look to build some momentum heading into Tuesday’s Champions League round of 16 matchup with Villarreal. Weston McKennie continues to be a key player for Juventus, to say nothing of his impact for the USMNT. He will likely get another start on Friday as the club has come to heavily rely on his influence.

Lille v Metz - 3p on beIN Sports

Perhaps the second most influential player for the USMNT over the past six months is Timothy Weah. He’s been incredibly goal dangerous for his country though he’s yet to see that same level of impact for his club. Lille are coming off a 1-0 win over Montpellier and gearing up for Tuesday’s matchup against Chelsea in the Champions League.

Saturday

Wolfsburg v Hoffenheim - 9:30a on ESPN+

Chris Richards remains unavailable for Hoffenheim following his foot injury while with the USMNT in January but John Brooks will take the field with Wolfsburg coming off a Team of the Week performance last weekend. It’s hard to say if that level of performance will be enough to catch the eye of Gregg Berhalter given the amount of confusion about why Brooks has been kept out of the team the past two windows but Brooks is certainly doing everything he can on the pitch to make his case. Wolfsburg have won two straight which is enough to at least temporarily pull them out of the relegation scrap and into 12th place in the league. Meanwhile, Hoffenheim also won last weekend and remain tied on points with three other teams for the fourth and final Champions League position.

Other notes:

• Ricardo Pepi saw 30’ off the bench for Augsburg last weekend in their 3-2 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach. They face SC Freiburg this weekend at 9:30a on ESPN+.
• George Bello also saw 30’ off the bench last weekend as Arminia Bielefeld last 2-0 to Hoffenheim. This weekend they will face Union Berlin at 9:30a on ESPN+.
• Christian Pulisic and Chelsea face Crystal Palace at 10a on USA Network. Pulisic opened his season with a goal against Palace back in August as the Premier League campaign kicked off.
• Josh Sargent and Norwich City look likely to have a second rough week in a row. Coming off a 4-0 loss to Manchester City they now face Liverpool at 10a on Peacock.
• Matt Miazga has been an unused substitute for three straight matches. His Deportivo Alaves side will have their hands full against Real Madrid at 3p on ABC.

Sunday

Valencia v Barcelona - 10:15a on ESPN+

We have a potential US v US matchup in la Liga on Sunday as Yunus Musah and Valencia face Barcelona and Sergino Dest. Musah has started five straight matches for Valencia, unfortunately they are looking for their first win in seven games and coming off a 2-1 loss to Alaves. Meanwhile, Sergino Dest has found minutes more difficult to come by though he did start last weekends draw with Espanyol thanks to Dani Alves’ red card in their previous match. It’s been hard to get a feel for Xavi’s plan for Dest; he was a substitute again midweek in Europa League play though Alves isn’t eligible for that competition either. Xavi chose to start Oscar Minqueza in that match. If Minqueza and Alves have both moved ahead of Dest it will certainly be time for the young man to find a new club come Summer.

Other notes:

• Gianluca Busio started and was subbed off for Tanner Tessmann last weekend in Venezia’s 2-1 win over Torino. They face Genoa this weekend at 9a on Paramount+ in a crucial match for relegation purposes: Venezia currently sit tied with Cagliari for 17th, the final position of safety, and both teams are six points ahead of 19th place Genoa.
• Giovanni Reyna’s return from injury had a slight hiccup last weekend as he was held out with illness but he returned midweek as a substitute in Europa League play, a dreadful loss to Rangers. It’s a battle of the Borussia’s this weekend as Dortmund face Joe Scally’s Monchengladbach at 11:30a on ESPN+.
• Tyler Adams and RB Leipzig look to build on last weekend’s win over Cologne and settle into fourth place as they face Hertha Berlin who are looking for their first win in seven matches and are coming off a loss to Greuther Furth. Leipzig and Hertha will take the field at 1:30p on ESPN+.