USMNT weekend viewing guide: Managing matters

There are quite a few matches this weekend to watch involving USMNT players, but the highlight of the weekend is going to be this afternoon when two American managers face off against each other. Let’s take a look at some of the matches to watch.

Friday

RB Leipzig v Stuttgart - 2:30p on ESPN+

RB Leipzig and Stuttgart kick off the weekend when the two clubs led by American managers take the field on Friday afternoon. RB Leipzig, with Jesse Marsch managing and Tyler Adams playing a key roll in midfield, will be looking to bounce back from an opening weekend loss to Mainz in which they dominated possession but they were unable to break through in a 1-0 loss. Stuttgart and Pellegrino Matarazzo are coming off a 5-1 thumping of newly promoted Greuther Fürth, a sign that they will be looking to improve on last year’s ninth place finish (or perhaps just a sign that Furth are headed straight back down).

Other notes:

• The San Jose Earthquakes take on the LA Galaxy at 10:30p on ESPN2. Cade Cowell and Jackson Yueill will take the field for San Jose while Julian Araujo and Sebastian Lletget will start for the Galaxy.

Saturday

Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia Mönchengladbach - 12:30p on ABC and ESPN Deportes

A week after making a solid debut in Borussia Mönchengladbach’s 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich, 18-year-old Joe Scally will take the big network stage. This weekend, Scally and ‘Gladbach will be facing Bayer Leverkusen, who are coming off a 1-1 draw with Union Berlin. It’s been a meteoric rise for Scally, who is actually playing out of position on the left as he has typically manned the right back position. However, due to injuries, there has been an opportunity on the left and Scally has been making the most of the moment.

Other notes:

• Josh Sargent saw 13 minutes off the bench against Liverpool for a Norwich City side that was already down 3-0 when Sargent game into the game. This weekend, they will go up against Manchester City at 10a on NBCSN. What an introduction to the EPL.
• Minnesota United and Sporting Kansas City play at 3:30 on ESPN. Hassani Dotson will see time for Minnesota, while SKC look to Jaylin Lindsey and Cameron Duke.
• Gyasi Zardes and the Columbus Crew take on Cristian Roldan and the Seattle Sounders at 5:30p on Fox.
• Caden Clark, Kyle Duncan, and the New York Red Bulls take on cross town rivals NYCFC with James Sands and Keaton Parks at 8p on FS1.

Streaming overseas:

• John Brooks and Wolfsburg face Hertha Berlin at 9:30a on ESPN+. Brooks picked up an assist in Wolfsburg’s 1-0 victory over 10-man VfL Bochum, while Berlin suffered a 3-1 loss last weekend.
• Borussia Dortmund take on Freiburg at 9:30a on ESPN+. Giovanni Reyna picked up a goal in last weekend’s 5-2 thumping of Eintracht Frankfurt.
• Timothy Weah got a start, but Lille suffered a 4-0 loss last weekend against their former manager and Nice. Lille will take on Saint Etienne at 3p on beIN Sport this weekend.
• Sergiño Dest and FC Barcelona started the post-Messi era with a win last weekend. They will look to continue that when they face Athletic Bilbao at 4p on ESPN+.

MLS Mashup:

(All matches on ESPN+)

• Indiana Vassilev has two goals in the last three games for Inter Miami who face Toronto FC at 8p.
• Matt Turner and the New England Revolution face FC Cincinnati at 8p.
• DC United take on Miles Robinson, George Bello, and Atlanta United at 8p.
• Orlando City and the Chicago Fire face off at 8p. Rumors continue to swirl around Orlando’s Daryl Dike but no move is imminent yet.
• The Philadelphia Union and little Paxton Aaronson take on CF Montreal at 8p.
• Ricardo Pepi, Jesus Ferreira, and Paxton Pomykal lead FC Dallas as they take on the Houston Dynamo at 8:300.
• Austin FC take on the Portland Timbers at 9p.
• Kellyn Acosta and the Colorado Rapids face Real Salt Lake at 9p. Bobby Wood has a goal and an assist in the last two games for RSL.
• The Vancouver Whitecaps and LAFC close out the night with a game at 10p.

Sunday

Udinese v Juventus - 12:30p on Paramount+

Rumors have it that several other clubs have their eyes on Weston McKennie and he could be on the move from Juventus, who recently added Manuel Locatelli to their midfield. He’s still with Juventus for now though, and they kick off their Serie A 2021-22 campaign against Udinese on Sunday afternoon. Last season was a disappointing one for The Old Lady as they fell to fourth place and narrowly qualified for Champions League play. They will look to get things started well as they face a Udinese side that finished 14th.

Other notes:

• Christian Pulisic is out after testing positive for Covid, as his Chelsea FC side face Arsenal FC at 11:30a on NBCSN.
• Sebastian Soto and Pumas UNAM face Puebla at 1p on TUDN and Univision.

Streaming overseas:

• Chris Richards is still waiting out a potential move from Bayern Munich, who face Köln at 11:30a on ESPN+.
• Konrad de la Fuente and Olympique de Marseille face Nice at 2:45p on beIN Sports.
• Bryan Reynolds has seen some spot time for Roma who start their season against Fiorentina at 2:45p on Paramount+.

Hit the comments to discuss all these matches and others that may hit your radar!