USMNT midweek viewing guide: Final fours

This week isn’t the extravaganza we were given last week, and hopefully it also doesn’t feature the global game on the precipice of disaster. However, it does feature Christian Pulisic and Zack Steffen in the Champions League semifinals, Folarin Balogun and Bryan Reynolds in the Europa League semifinals, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, and Concacaf Champions League. Okay, okay, Bryan Reynolds is ineligible to play in the Europa League, but his club is still competing in it, and hopefully they win so he can play Champions League football next time around.

Let’s get into it! Here’s a snapshot of USMNT players in action:

Tuesday

• St. Pölten v Josko Ried, 12:30p: St. Pölten need results to avoid the drop, with 5 games left. Taylor Booth has 2 goals in their last 6, despite limited minutes. Brandon Servania has missed the last 2 matchday squads.
• Real Madrid v Chelsea FC, 3p on Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, TUDN, Univision, fuboTV: Christian Pulisic and Chelsea travel to Madrid to take on Real in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals, reminiscent of Pulisic’s performance at the Bernabéu nearly 5 years ago.
• Atlanta United v Philadelphia Union, 8p on FS1, TUDN, fuboTV: Philadelphia (Fontana, Flach, all the kids) visit the Benz to take on ATL (Robinson, Bello, Hyndman) in their CCL first leg.
• Internacional v Deportivo Táchira, 8:30p on Fanatiz, fuboTV: Johnny missed a couple games when Internacional hired a new manager, but subbed on for them Sunday. The club lost their first Copa Libertadores group-stage game last week.
• Toronto FC v Cruz Azul, 10p on FS1, TUDN, fuboTV: Jozy Altidore and Ayo Akinola both returned from injury as substitutes for TFC at the weekend, as the Reds “host” Cruz Azul in Tampa Bay for their CCL first leg.

Also in action:

• Austria Wien v Admira Wacker, 12:30p: Erik Palmer-Brown has missed Wien’s last 3 matches, the first one due to illness. Andrew Wooten has notched 3 goals in 15 games for Admira Wacker since joining from Philadelphia.
• Brentford v Rotherham United, 2p on ESPN+: Matt Olosunde and Rotherham have lost 4 straight, and are in danger of relegation to League One.
• Sunderland v Blackpool, 2p on ESPN+: Lynden Gooch and Sunderland look set for the promotion playoffs. Gooch has assists in their last 2 games.

Wednesday

• Greuther Fürth v Sandhausen, 12:30p: Julian Green and Fürth look to bounce back in their promotion push, after losing to St. Pauli at the weekend.
• RB Salzburg v Wolfsberg, 12:30p: Brenden Aaronson has 3 goals, 3 assists as Salzburg continues to push for the Austrian title.
• Paris Saint-Germain v Manchester City, 3p on Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, TUDN, Univision, fuboTV: About a week ago, it looked like PSG might be hoisting the Champions League trophy without playing another match. With the world saved, we resume our regularly scheduled programming, with Zack Steffen likely on the bench.
• Columbus Crew v Monterrey, 8:30p on FS2, TUDN, fuboTV: Gyasi Zardes and the Crew host Rayados in Columbus for their CCL first leg.
• Deportes Tolima v Talleres, 8:30p on Fanatiz, fuboTV: Joel Soñora subbed on late for Talleres in their first match in the Copa Sudamericana group stage (they lost 1-2). He started in their 3-2 win at the weekend. This week the club travels to Colombia.
• Portland Timbers v América, 10:30p on FS1, TUDN, fuboTV: Eryk Williamson and Portland host Las Águilas at Providence Park in their CCL first leg. Jeremy Ebobisse appears to still be out injured.

Also in action:

• Kayserispor v Denizlispor, 9a: Mix Diskerud scored at the weekend, but he and Denizlispor are only a few points away from being relegated to Turkey’s second division.
• Bayern II v Duisburg, 1p: Justin Che (17) has played in 4 straight for Bayern II, on loan from FC Dallas. Bayern’s reserves are in danger of being dropped to the Regionalliga.
• Jagiellonia v Raków Częstochowa, 1p: Ben Lederman (20) is playing regularly with Rakow, who are third in the Polish league, and have won 4 straight.
• Galatasaray v Konyaspor, 1:30p on Fanatiz, fuboTV: DeAndre Yedlin is out injured.
• Independiente v Torque, 6:15p on Fanatiz: Alan Soñora has missed a few matches with a positive covid test, but could return for this Copa Sudamericana matchup.

Thursday

• FC Barcelona v Granada, 1p on beIN Sports, Fanatiz, fuboTV: Barcelona can leapfrog both Madrid clubs to 1st in the La Liga table with a win. Sergiño Dest has lost some of his minutes to Sergi Roberto.
• Villarreal v Arsenal FC, 3p on Paramount+, Galavision, fuboTV: Folarin Balogun was left out of the U23 matchday squad Monday, and could be back with the Arsenal first team, as they travel to Villarreal for the Europa League semi-final first leg. Balogun has seen his first-team chances return since signing a long-term deal with the Gunners. He could see more, as Lacazette is injured and Aubameyang still recovering from illness.
• Manchester United v AS Roma, 3p on Paramount+, TUDN, UniMás, fuboTV: To the best of my knowledge, Bryan Reynolds is not eligible for Europa action for Roma. The Italian club travels to Old Trafford for a Europa League semi-final first leg; winning the tournament is their most realistic chance at next year’s Champions League.

Also in action:

• Sivasspor v Yeni Malatyaspor, 9a: Tyler Boyd subbed on for Sivasspor Saturday, making his return from injury.
• Atlético San Luis v Pachuca, 10p on TUDN, fuboTV: David Rodriguez has played 45’ in 2 of San Luis’ last 3. The 18-year-old FC Dallas academy product is on loan from Dallas’ USL affiliate, North Texas SC.

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