USMNT weekend viewing guide: A Premier matchup

The USMNT club schedule is starting out a little rough this weekend, as Marco Rose has said that Gio Reyna will not participate in Borussia Dortmund’s match on Friday.

Reyna’s continued absence for his club is casting some real doubt on his availability for the USMNT in the upcoming window. With your Friday ruined, let’s jump right to Saturday where we have a good slate of action.

Saturday

Manchester City v Chelsea FC - 7:30a on Peacock

Manchester City already hold a 10 point lead for the EPL title, making Saturday’s visit to the Etihad a bit of a “must win” for Chelsea if they want to make a push for the league title. A loss would drop them 13 points back, while a victory would pull them within 7. Faced with a similar situation two weeks ago in their matchup with Liverpool, Chelsea had to settle for the home draw as Christian Pulisic’s first half stoppage time goal drew the two clubs level at 2-2, which would remain the final score. While the result wasn’t what Chelsea would have hoped, the match was an excellent one, as was Pulisic’s goal.

Christian was an unused substitute midweek as Chelsea came into their Carabao Cup Semifinal match with Tottenham leading 2-0 on aggregate and saw things out smoothly with a 1-0 win. The fresh legs seems like a good indication that Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has plans to use Pulisic over the weekend in this marquee matchup.

Other notes:

• Tyler Adams and RB Leipzig got a much needed 4-1 win over Mainz a week ago and will look to build on that as they face Stuttgart at 9:30a on ESPN+.
• John Brooks and Wolfsburg have lost 8 straight across all competitions and currently sit just 2 points out of relegation playoff position. They face Hertha Berlin, who sit one point ahead of them on Saturday morning at 9:30a on ESPN+.
• Chris Richards and Hoffenheim will travel to Union Berlin and look to maintain their Champions League qualifying position in 3rd place. Union Berlin currently sit in 7th, but 3 points back of Hoffenheim. The match will also be on ESPN+ at 9:30a.
• Josh Sargent missed his club’s midweek match due to the birth of his first child. He’ll look to overcome his sleep deprivation to find the field and the scoresheet as Norwich City face Everton at 10a on Peacock.
• Matthew Hoppe returned from a long absence (he hadn’t seen the field since September) and saw 16 minutes for Mallorca in their 2-0 loss to Levante last weekend. This weekend, Mallorca will face Espanyol at 10a on ESPN+.
• Joe Scally missed last weekend’s matchup with Bayern Munich but could be available again this weekend as Borussia Mönchengladbach face Bayer Leverkusen at 12:30p on ESPN+.
• Weston McKennie and Juventus face Udinese at 2:45p on Paramount+. McKennie played the full match, including both extra time periods, on Wednesday as Juve lost to Inter Milan in the Supercoppa Italiana despite McKennie’s goal.

Sunday

Augsburg v Eintracht Frankfurt - 9:30a on ESPN+

Ricardo Pepi stepped right off the plane and onto the field as he saw 30 minutes in his first match with FC Augsburg. The team scored early only to cough up the lead by giving up two goals in the last 10’ of the half. Pepi came on looking for some instant impact that would draw his club level, but they failed to create the necessary chances and gave up another goal in stoppage time and lost by a 3-1 score. While the outcome isn’t what player or club would have hoped, it was good to see Pepi get some minutes as soon as he was eligible. He will have his first home experience this weekend with Augsburg, though it will be without fans in the stands as the Bundesliga continues their COVID restrictions.

Other notes:

• Yunus Musah saw the start for Valencia FC against Real Madrid on Saturday in a 4-1 loss. Valencia now face Atlético Beleares in their next Copa del Ray matchup on Sunday morning at 6a on ESPN+.
• Nicholas Gioacchini’s Montpellier face Strasbourg at 9a on beIN Sports Connect. Gioacchini has not seen the field in the past month.
• Tanner Tessmann got a rare start and Gianluca Bussio was an unused substitute midweek in Venezia’s 2-0 loss to Atalanta in the Coppa Italia. The club will look to rebound against Empoli at 9a on Paramount+.
• Julian Green’s Greuther Fürth face Arminia Bielefeld at 11:30a on ESPN+. Green has primarily taken a substitute role recently, including just a couple minutes last weekend in the team’s scoreless draw with Stuttgart.
• There is potential for a rare American vs. American matchup in Ligue 1 when Konrad de la Fuente’s Olympique Marseille meet Tim Weah’s Lille at 2:45p on beIN Sports. Unfortunately, Weah is also struggling with injury and seems unlikely to be available.