USMNT weekend viewing guide: seeking promotion

The major European seasons have come to an end but there’s still a ton to play for this weekend as the Championship promotion playoffs come to a close. That’s coming up on Sunday with USMNT impact but first let’s cover what we have going on Saturday.

Saturday

Los Angeles FC v San Jose Earthquakes - 6p on TUDN, Unimas, and Twitter

Kellyn Acosta and MLS leading LAFC host the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday evening looking to extend their lead in the Western Conference. LAFC have the top record in MLS but were bounced by the LA Galaxy in the US Open Cup on Wednesday and have lost three of their past four matches across all competitions. Meanwhile, San Jose was also defeated in US Open Cup play, by USL side Sacramento Republic FC. The Earthquakes sit in 11th place in the Western Conference with just three wins through 13 matches. Jeremy Ebobisse does have 7 goals in 13 matches for his club but the team has given up a league leading 29 goals.

MLS mashup (all matches on ESPN+):

• Atlanta United (Robinson injured) and the Columbus Crew (A. Morris) kick off at 7p.
• The New York Red Bulls (Long, Clark) host DC United at 7p.
• Toronto FC (Bradley) face the Chicago Fire (Slonina) at 7p.
• Montreal (Mihailovic) and Cincinnati kick off at 7:30p.
• The New England Revolution (Turner) take on the Philadelphia Union at 7:30p.
• Orlando City SC hosts FC Dallas (Fereirra, Ariola, Pomykal) at 7:30p.
• Inter Miami (Yedlin) take on the Portland Timbers at 8p.
• Minnesota United and New York City FC (Johnson, Parks, Gray) kick off at 8p.
• The Colorado Rapids host Nashville SC (Zimmerman) at 9p.
• Sporting Kansas City and Vancouver FC kick off at 9p.
• Real Salt Lake (Wood) and the Houston Dynamo close out the night beginning at 9:30p.

Sunday

Huddersfield Town v Nottingham Forest - 11:30a on ESPN+.

The match of the weekend from a USMNT perspective will take place on Sunday morning as Duane Holmes and Ethan Horvath’s clubs match up to see who will be playing in the Premier League next season and who will be headed back to the Championship.

Duane Holmes has been a regular contributor for Huddersfield Town this season, appearing in 37 of the clubs 46 league matches, most of which were starts in central midfield. Holmes scored five goals over the course of the season and helped his club secure 19 of a possible 21 points down the stretch. Holmes also started both of Huddersfield’s semi-finals matches against Luton Town, a 1-1 draw and a 1-0 victory to secure their spot in the final.

Huddersfield’s opponent on Sunday will be Nottingham Forest who went to penalties against Sheffield United before securing their own spot in the Championship final. Ethan Horvath started a stretch of five games in February and March and his club did not loose, only giving up five goals but Horvath was displaced by Forest’s regular starter Bryce Samba. He saw out the remainder of the season and saved three of the five shots he faced in the aforementioned shootout. With a year remaining on Samba’s contract it seems unlikely that Horvath will see regular playing time at Forest next year regardless of whether they make the jump to the EPL but for now he will be rooting on his team as they seek promotion to the Premier League.

Broadcast matches:

• The LA Galaxy face Austin FC at 6p in a match that can be seen on TUDN and Unimas.
• Jordan Morris, Cristian Roldan and the Seattle Sounders close out the weekend when they face Charlotte at 9:30p on FS1.

There’s your action for the weekend, who will you be pulling for in the Promotion final? What else are you keeping an eye on this weekend? Hit the comments section below and let us know.