USMNT weekend viewing guide: MLS Cup Finals on deck

With the Seattle Sounders and Columbus Crew facing off in MLS Cup action, a full menu of Bundesliga plus some EPL and La Liga games there’s a solid slate of action this weekend and other life duties are pressing in hard so let’s get right to it.

Friday

Wolfsburg v Eintracht Frankfurt - 2:30p on ESPN+

Go ahead and skip out of the office early if you can to catch our boy John Brooks and fifth place Wolfsburg take on Eintracht Frankfurt Friday afternoon. For better or worse, Wolfsburg do not have the distraction of European competition this year and currently sit in fifth place, one point behind Borussia Dortmund. Wolfsburg are also one of two teams yet to suffer a loss in Bundesliga play, though they are coming off a disappointing 2-2 draw with Köln last weekend. In fact, the past two weeks, against two low tier opponents, are the only two matches in which Wolfsburg have given up more than one goal this season.

This weekend Wolfsburg face Timothy Chandler’s Eintracht Frankfurt, who are currently in 9th place. Unfortunately, Chandler has seen just 50 minutes of action thus far and has not made it off the bench in the past five matches (all draws).

Saturday

Columbus Crew v Seattle Sounders - 8:30p on Fox

The MLS Cup Final is here! But Darlington Nagbe is not. It was reported Thursday evening that Nagbe, along with midfield partner Pedro Santos, were “medically not cleared to play” this weekend and thus will miss the Final. In what is certainly an unrelated event, the Crew also announced that a player had tested positive for COVID-19, but would not disclose who in order to protect privacy laws. For those interested in the intersection of MLS and USMNT, you can still catch Jordan Morris and Gyasi Zardes on Saturday evening in a match that will heavily favor the Sounders at this point. For those more interested in the COVID implications, the MLS union has reported that nearly 20% of players have had COVID, which is a) not great; and b) a fair bit higher than the rest of the population. Maybe they should have stuck with the MLS is Back bubble.

Looking through the paywall:

• Yunus Musah and Valencia face Athletic Bilbao at 8a on beIN Sports Connect. Valencia is looking for their first win since beating Real Madrid in early November.
• Giovanni Reyna and Borussia Dortmund face Pellegrino Matarazzo’s Stuttgart at 9:30 a on ESPN+. Reyna and company will be looking to get things back on track for a top of the table finish while Matarazzo’s Stuttgart are an impressive 8th place.
• It’s a USMNT head-to-head matchup when Tyler Adams and RB Leipzig face Josh Sargent and Werder Bremen at 9:30a on ESPN+. Adams and Leipzig are looking to keep pace for the top of the table while Werder Bremen look to get back on track after two straight losses.
• Chris Richards continues to see substitute minutes for top of the table Bayern Munich who face Union Berlin at 12:30p on ESPN+.
• Christian Pulisic was an unused sub for Chelsea midweek in an uneventful Champions League match, but should be available this weekend when they face Everton at 3p on Peacock.

Sunday

Fulham v Liverpool - 11:30a on NBCSN

It’s a second straight matchup with a top of the table club for Fulham on Sunday when they face a Liverpool side who are second to Tottenham only by virtue of goal differential. Robinson and Fulham suffered a 2-0 loss last weekend to Manchester City, though frankly it could have been worse as they were heavily out processed and out shot.

This weekend they will again have their work cut out for them against a Liverpool side that has not been as tight defensively as they were last year but lead the league in scoring. Robinson seems to have cemented his position with the first team and is likely to get some more quality experience on Sunday.

Looking through the paywall:

• Matthew Hoppe came on as a sub last weekend for Schalke 04 in their 3-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen. The team faces Augsburg this week at 9:30a on ESPN+.
• Weston McKennie and Juventus face Genoa at Noon on ESPN+. If you haven’t seen McKennie’s goal against Barcelona yet. drop everything and go check it out now.
• Sergiño Dest and Barcelona were on the losing side of that 3-0 match with Juventus mid-week and are coming off a 2-1 loss to Cadiz in league play last weekend. They’ll look to get things back on track Sunday against Levante at 3p on beIN Sports.

That’s what we’ve got this weekend, hit the comments section to let us know what you’re watching.