USMNT May 17-19 viewing guide and open thread

With the English Premier League having drawn to a close, things are starting to slow down as we head to the summer. Still, there’s one week of Bundesliga action left with plenty on the line this weekend, including European competition qualifying opportunities for a handful of Americans and even an outside chance for Christian Pulisic and Dortmund to jump Bayern Munich and hoist the Bundesliga championship trophy. Here are the games you can catch live this weekend:

Saturday

Borussia Mönchengladbach v Borussia Dortmund - 9:30a on FS1

Two points behind league leading Bayern Munich, Christian Pulisic and company will need some help if Dortmund are going to pass Bayern and claim first place but it is still technically within reach and Bayern Munich don’t have a gimmie on Saturday (more on that in a minute). To have any hope Dortmund must win their own game, a tough matchup against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Marco Reus will presumably be back in the lineup following a two game red-card suspension and one would think that would impact Christian Pulisic’s role but it also seems unlikely that he’ll be benched after showing well the past two weeks including scoring the opening goal in each game.

Dortmund are coming off a 3-2 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf, but dropped points to Werder Bremen and rivals Schalke 04 the previous two weeks. This week, Dortmund will be facing a Borussia Mönchengladbach team that have quite a bit to play for themselves. Gladbach are tied on points with Bayer Leverkusen for fourth place and with a win over Dortmund will secure Champions League qualification, unless Leverkusen is able to win and overcome the two goal differential disadvantage. With a loss, Gladbach can fall no lower than 7th place which should still qualify them for Europa League play.

Gladbach are coming off a 4-0 win over Nurnberg. Unfortunately Fabian Johnson has been a non-factor recently, failing to appear in the past five games and not even making the 18 the last two games.

Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt - 9:30a on Fox

The aforementioned Bayern Munich will look to secure the title of Bundesliga champions for the 28th time when they face 6th place Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. Bayern Munich are coming off a scoreless draw with RB Leipzig and a similar result would be enough to see them lift the trophy, assuming Dortmund can’t overcome Bayern’s +17 advantage in goal differential.

Eintracht Frankfurt are coming into the game winless in their last five which has seen them slip down to sixth place. Eintracht could still qualify for Champions League play if they win and both Gladbach and Bayer Leverkusen fail to win. Worst case scenario for Frankfurt would be a loss combined with Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim winning which would push Eintracht to eighth and completely out of European competition. Timothy Chandler was in the squad last weekend but did not see any minutes, one week after seeing 16 minutes off the bench in his first appearance of an injury ruined season.

Werder Bremen v RB Leipzig - 9:30a on Univision Deportes

The third televised game occurring simultaneously Saturday morning will see Josh Sargent’s Werder Bremen taking the field looking to get a win and some help that would usher them into Europa League play. Bremen are currently in 9th place, but they can leapfrog Hoffenheim and Wolfsburg if they win and both of those teams lose.

Werder Bremen are coming off a 1-0 win over Hoffenheim that saw them stay within striking distance of the club. Unfortunately, Josh Sargent’s playing time has dried up and he hasn’t seen the field since March with just seven minutes since February.

RB Leipzig are solidly in third with no possibility of moving up or down the standings, and with the dfb Cup final next weekend, they would seem better served coasting this weekend but they are coming off back-to-back draws and haven’t lost a game since January so they clearly don’t represent an easy out. Tyler Adams will be available this weekend for Leipzig and it would seem logical that they would give him some minutes to get him game ready for the Cup final.

Other Notes:

• San Jose and the Chicago Fire play Saturday afternoon at 3:30p on Univision Deportes. January camp participants Djordje Mihailovic and Nick Lima are likely to play for their respective clubs.

Sunday

New York Red Bulls v Atlanta United - 5p on FS1

Is it possible that Atlanta United have broken out of the early season slump that had fans panicking to start the year? They haven’t been putting up the gaudy goal scoring numbers, but the team has won five straight games to move to third place in the Eastern Conference. Brek Shea, Brad Guzan, Miles Robinson and Darlington Nagbe are among those who will be considered for Atlanta on Sunday when they face the Red Bulls.

They’ll be facing a disappointing Red Bulls team that have are coming off a win and have won three of their last four but are still mired in ninth place. Aaron Long and Tim Parker will look to anchor the defense against the Atlanta attack.

So what are you watching and who will you be rooting for this weekend? Only Josh Sargent or John Brooks can make Europa League, so which would you prefer? Would you rather see Timothy Chandler and Eintracht Frankfurt make Champions League play or Fabian Johnson and Borussia Mönchengladbach? Let us know and tell us about what else you’re seeing in the comments below.