USMNT May 3-5 viewing guide and open thread

Hold on to your hats cowboys, it’s a very full viewing weekend with up to sixteen games where Americans could see the field. Unfortunately, that count doesn’t include any games on Friday because while his RB Leipzig teammates will be in action against Mainz looking to finish the season strong, Tyler Adams has been ruled out as he continues to deal with an adductor injury. Given that Adams is out and there are no other Friday games, but a plethora of action on Saturday and Sunday, we’ll jump right into the Saturday action.

Saturday

AFC Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur - 7:30a on NBCSN

Emerson Hyndman actually saw minutes last week! The 23-year-old saw his first Premier League minutes of the season last week in a 3-3 draw with Southampton. The 37 minutes off the bench were the first competitive minutes for Hyndman since his loan with Hibernian FC of the Scottish Premiership ended in December. With two games left, Bournemouth are clear of the relegation battle, and one would hope that Eddie Howe would continue to take the opportunity to let some of the younger club players see the field. The team will certainly have their work cut out for them this weekend as they face third place Tottenham, who can clinch their 2019-2020 Champions League ticket with a win this weekend.

Werder Bremen v Borussia Dortmund - 12:30p on FS2

Josh Sargent has seen just seven minutes since February and Aron Johannsson has made the squad just once since returning to fitness, so it seems unlikely that either player would see the field this weekend. Werder Bremen is unlikely to move into a Europa League qualifying position, as they currently sit five points back of sixth place with three games to play. Still, they haven’t been mathematically eliminated yet, and it seems likely they’ll push as long as they can.

On the opposite side, Christian Pulisic and Borussia Dortmund’s hopes for lifting the Bundesliga trophy took a big hit last weekend with their loss to Schalke 04, but they were thrown a lifeline when Bayern Munich drew Nurnberg on Sunday. Dortmund will be with out Marco Reus for the next two games as he’s been suspended as a result of his tackle on Suat Serdar. Pulisic has been coming off the bench for Dortmund recently, seeing a handful of minutes in each game for which he’s been healthy.

Other Notes:

• Bobby Wood has been out with a knee injury and is not expected to return for Hannover this season. Sebastian Soto did make three substitute appearances for the team in April, but was not in the squad again last weekend. The team takes on league leading Bayern Munich at 9:30a on FS2, technically not having been relegated yet, but certainly headed in that direction as they are six points behind Stuttgart for the relegation playoff spot.
• Tim Ream and Fulham FC will take on Wolverhampton Wanderers at 10a on NBCSN. Fulham are destined for relegation but they have managed to have their first winning streak of the season with three wins in a row.
• The New York Red Bulls and LA Galaxy will face off at 2p on ESPN. It’s been a rough start to the season for Tim Parker, Aaron Long and company as the Red Bulls have just two wins and eight points through eight games. Joe Corona, David Bingham and Sebastian Lletget are likely to see time for the Galaxy.
• DeAndre Yedlin has been stuck on the bench the past three weeks for Newcastle. This comes following a penalty he gave up that was the losing goal in the teams 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace and it seems that Yedlin may have put himself in the doghouse. The team plays Liverpool at 2:45 on NBCSN.
• Team Play Your Kids, i.e. F.C. Dallas will take on the Houston Dynamo at 4p on Univision Deportes. Jesse Gonzalez (23), Reggie Cannon (20), and Paxton Pomykal (19) are among the youngsters seeing regular playing time for Dallas.
• William Yarbrough has yest to see time this season so it seems unlikely he’ll see the field when Leon take on Pachuca at 8p on ESPN Deportes.
• Ventura Alvarado was out last weekend serving a red card suspension but should be available again this weekend as Necaxa take on Queretaro at 10p on Univision Deportes.

Sunday

Schalke 04 v Augsburg - 7:30a on FS1

Weston McKennie and Schalke picked up a big win last weekend and another win this weekend would virtually guarantee them safety (unless Stuttgart would also win and could overcome a 21 goal differential in the last two weeks). Schalke will be taking on an Augsburg team that sit just one point above them in the Bundesliga table.

Other Notes:

• Danny Williams has seen just 93 minutes for Huddersfield Town this season and was not in the squad the past two weeks. Huddersfield Town are also bound for relegation and this weekend face Manchester United at 9a on NBCSN. United are currently in sixth and would like to make a push for a top four spot but have just one win in their last seven matches including Champions League play.
• Alfredo Morales didn’t make it off the bench last weekend in Fortuna Dusseldorf’s 4-1 win over Werder Bremen. This week they’ll be facing Freiburg at 9:30a on FS1.
• Timothy Chandler has yet to see any minutes this season for Eintracht Frankfurt, though he has been on the bench recently, despite rumors that he would be shut down for the year. The team is coming off a Thursday clash with Chelsea in the Europa League semifinals so it’s possible Chandler could see minutes though with the team clinging to fourth in the Bundesliga they’ll likely try to field a full strength squad when they play Bayer Leverkusen at Noon on FS2. Leverkusen are currently in sixth place and could tie Frankfurt on points with a win though Eintracht Frankfurt hold a strong goal differential lead.
• Michael Orozco has not seen the field for Lobos BUAP in the past month. The team faces Toluca at 1p on Univision Deportes.
• Omar Gonzalez returned to the field for Atlas last weekend after having sat out the past five games. With rumors that Gonzalez is headed for Toronto F.C. it wouldn’t be shocking to see Atlas look in another direction when they face Monterrey at 5p on Univision Deportes.
• It’s a battle of disappointing sides when Sporting Kansas City take on Atlanta United at 9p on FS1. SKC haven’t won since March and needed to be up a man before coming back from 3-1 and 4-2 down to draw 4-4- with the lowly New England Revolution. Graham Zusi and Matt Besler will look to get things turned back around for the team, while Gianluca Bussio is currently with the U-17s in Florida at World Cup Qualifying. Meanwhile Atlanta are having trouble scoring though they did just pick up a 1-0 win over the mighty Colorado Rapids who promptly fired their coach after the embarrassment of losing to Atlanta. Brad Guzan, Darlington Nagbe, Brek Shea, and Miles Robinson will see time for Atlanta.