USMNT midweek viewing guide: Play while you can

Straight out of the holidays, European soccer is being strongly affected by Covid, with several of this week’s planned fixtures being canceled. However, there is still some football on tap this week involving USMNT players. Let’s get into it!

Tuesday

• Antalyaspor v Giresunspor, 9a: Haji Wright continues to work his way back from injury, logging 26 minutes off the bench on Christmas day. His club Antalyaspor are in play in the 5th round of cup play in Turkey.
• Crystal Palace v Norwich City, 10a on Peacock: Josh Sargent returned from his covid quarantine to start vs Arsenal on Boxing Day, a 5-0 loss for the Canaries. Norwich are dead last in the EPL, and have the worst goal difference (-31), but a win would draw them even on points with 17th-place Watford.
• Galatasaray v Denizlispor, 1p: DeAndre Yedlin has stayed on the bench for Galatasaray’s last 2 league games, after starting 14 straight. Like Antalyaspor, they are in the 5th round of the Turkish cup.
• Maritimo v Vizela, 2p: Alex Méndez has logged nearly 700 minutes for Vizela so far this season, and the club is 3 spots above the relegation zone for now. Alejandro Alvarado has made the bench 4 times in the league and played 45’ in a cup match.

Wednesday

• Vitória Guimarães v Boavista, 2p on GOLTV, Fanatiz, fuboTV (free trial): Reggie Cannon has recovered from injury to play 3 games in December, and Boavista sit a surprising 9th of 18 in the Portuguese table.
• Chelsea v Brighton, 2:30p on Peacock: Thomas Tuchel recently spoke highly of Christian Pulisic and his mentality. The Blues won last time out, but have seen City open up a 6-point lead in the Premier League.
• Reading v Fulham, 3p on ESPN+ (free trial): Antonee Robinson and Tim Ream saw their Boxing Day clash with Birmingham postponed. They’ll hope to be able to stay atop the Championship, as they lead by 1 point and have a game in hand on second-place Bournemouth.
• Brentford v Manchester City, 3:15p on NBCSN, Universo, fuboTV, Sling TV: Zack Steffen is expected to be on the bench for this Premier League match.

Thursday

• Nottingham Forest v Huddersfield, 2:45p on ESPN+: Duane Holmes is likely to play for Huddersfield; Ethan Horvath is likely to ride pine for Forest. Holmes has put in some impressive performances for Huddersfield this year. A win could take them into 5th in the Championship, into a promotion playoff spot.

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