USMNT midweek viewing guide: Jumping for joy

It’s a quieter midweek this week, with the MLS season over and no Champions League on tap. However, even on a quiet week like this, we see 30 USMNT-eligible players ready to play. Let’s get into it!

Tuesday

• Venezia v Ternana, 9a on Paramount+: Busio and Tessmann helped Venezia take points off Juve in a 1-1 draw at the weekend. They face a second-tier side in the Coppa Italia round of 32.
• Barcelona v Boca Juniors, 12p: Sergiño Dest and Barça take on Boca Juniors in a friendly in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ostensibly to honor Diego Maradona, the game is sure to be a money-maker as well.
• Wolfsburg v Köln, 2:30p on ESPN+ (free trial): John Brooks has found himself on the bench in Wolfsburg’s last two, leading to a variety of stories swirling about his status with the club and new boss Florian Kohfeldt.
• Norwich City v Aston Villa, 2:45p on Peacock: Josh Sargent had a solid performance in the 0-1 loss to Manchester United; let’s see if he and the Canaries can fare better against Jack Grealish’s former club. 19-year-old Jonathan Tomkinson made the Norwich bench vs United at the weekend, he’s one to watch going forward.

Also in action:

• Stuttgart v Bayern Munich, 12:30p on ESPN+: Malik Tillman has a goal in 3 first-team Bayern games this fall, but has yet to play in the league.
• Manchester City v Leeds United, 3p on NCBSN, Universo, fuboTV, Sling TV: Zack Steffen figures to ride the pine as City take on Marcelo Bielsa’s club.
• Linares Deportivo v Deportivo Alavés, 3p on ESPN+: Matt Miazga has been out due to covid; his club face a third-tier side in the Copa del Rey second round.
• Anderlecht v Sint-Truiden, 3p: Chris Durkin has played in every game for Sint-Truiden up until the weekend, although he logged only 29’ in the league in November.

Wednesday

• AZ Alkmaar v Heracles, 12p: Luca de la Torre and Heracles enter the KNVB Cup second round.
• Borussia Mönchengladbach v Eintracht Frankfurt, 12:30p on ESPN+: American fullbacks face off as Joe Scally hosts Timmy Chandler and Frankfurt.
• Augsburg v RB Leipzig, 2:30p on ESPN+: Tyler Adams and Leipzig sit seventh, five points out of Champions League.
• Bayer Leverkusen v Hoffenheim, 2:30p on ESPN+: Chris Richards scored the game-winner for Hoffenheim this weekend, and was named Bundesliga’s Man of the Matchday. Hoffenheim have jumped above Freiburg and Union to take fourth place in the table, currently holding a Champions League spot.
• Ross County v Celtic, 2:45p: Cameron Carter-Vickers has been in great form for Celtic (who have won 6 straight). CCV was named the top central defender in Scotland last week, and in WhoScored’s Team of the Week for the third time yesterday. He’s also in their Team of the Season so far, with only 3 players in the entire league rated higher.
• PSV v Fortuna Sittard, 3p on GolTV, fuboTV (free trial), Fanatiz: Richy Ledezma has made the bench twice for PSV’s first team since his 4 key passes in 45’ for Jong PSV last Monday. The KNVB Cup second round could be the perfect opportunity for him to make his first-team return.

Also in action:

• Raków Częstochowa v Górnik Zabrze, 12p: Ben Lederman has 2 goals and an assist for Raków in the past 3 weeks; the club sit fourth, 6 points off first in Poland.
• Dortmund v Greuther Fürth, 2:30p on ESPN+: Gio Reyna is likely to miss this game, but Julian Green and Timothy Tillman will need to be at their best to give Fürth a chance vs BVB.
• Young Boys v Basel, 2:30p: Jordan Pefok and Young Boys are a disappointing fourth in Switzerland, but can focus on the league now that their European competition is over. Basel are three points ahead of the Bern club, in second place.
• Tenerife v Eibar, 3p: While Shaq Moore has just 461’ in the league, Samuel Shashoua has 1198’, to go with 5 goals and 4 assists, raising the question of whether Venezuela could look to call him up. They play in the Copa del Rey second round.

Thursday

• Arenteiro v Valencia, 1p on ESPN+: Yunus Musah and Valencia will look to have some fun vs their fourth-tier opponents in Copa del Rey.
• Chelsea v Everton, 2:45p on NBCSN, Universo, fuboTV, Sling TV: Christian Pulisic and the Blues host the Toffees, with Chelsea sitting third, one point behind Liverpool and two behind Man City.

Also in action:

• Antwerp v Eupen, 12:45p: Sam Vines has played 7 straight full 90’s for Antwerp, who sit third in Belgium.
• Llanera v Mallorca, 1p on ESPN+: Matthew Hoppe is likely to miss this Copa del Rey mismatch as he continues to recover from injury,
• Genk v Charleroi, 3p on ESPN+: Mark McKenzie is seeing a resurgence for Genk; he’s started 4 straight for them.
• Boavista v Braga, 3:15p: Reggie Cannon made a 26’ cameo for Boavista at the weekend, his first game in over 5 weeks. They face Braga in the League Cup.

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