USMNT weekend viewing guide: American clash

There’s a huge American matchup in the Premier League on Sunday as well as key players returning to form following long injury breaks. Combined with a handful of USMNT players who continue to consistent see action in Europe and MLS playoffs on Sunday, there’s quite a bit to watch all the way through the weekend, so let’s see what we have.

Friday

Juventus v Empoli - 2:45p on Paramount+

Weston McKennie and Juventus start the weekend on Friday looking to build a winning streak and climb out of the hole they have dug for themselves to start the 2022-23 season. Juventus have yet to string two wins together in league play and have fallen to 8th place, 10 points back of league-leading Napoli. McKennie continues to be a regular starter for the club and went 90 minutes last weekend in the team’s 1-0 win over Torino.

This weekend, they will face 10th place Empoli, who are coming off of a 1-0 win over Monza. It was just the second win of the season for Empoli, but they have managed 5 draws in 10 matches and currently sit in the middle of the Serie A table.

Saturday

Borussia Dortmund v Stuttgart - 9:30a on ESPN+

Gio Reyna has appeared in the last three matches across all competitions, coming off the bench in each, as Borussia Dortmund continue to ease him back from injury. Dortmund lost to league-leading Union Berlin last weekend and fell to 8th place in the Bundesliga standings, 7 points back of the league leaders. Midweek, Reyna got 20 minutes in BVB’s 2-0 DFB-Pokal win over Hannover 96. It seems likely that the club will continue to be cautious in their approach to utilizing Reyna as they are much more concerned about his long term prospects, but it would be great to see him build up to an additional minutes load ahead of the World Cup.

Dortmund’s opponent this weekend is Stuttgart, who picked up a 4-1 win over Bochum last weekend in their first match since parting ways with Pellegrino Matarazzo. Midweek, the team dealt Arminia Bielefeld and George Bello a 6-0 thumping in DFB-Pokal play.

Other notes:

• Chelsea FC and Manchester United kickoff at 12:30p on NBC in what should probably be a premier matchup of the weekend, but curse you Chelsea and your failure to treasure an American hero like Christian Pulisic. Pulisic was used as a sub again midweek in the side’s scoreless draw with Brentford.
• Yunus Musah is back to full health and starting for Valencia, who face Mallorca at 12:30p in a match that can be seen on ESPN Deportes or ESPN+.

Streaming overseas:

• Kevin Paredes and Wolfsburg face Bayer Leverkusen at 9:30a on ESPN+. Paredes continues to see minutes off the bench for Wolfsburg.
• Sergiño Dest has appeared in just two league matches for AC Milan, though he did see time in each of the team’s Champions League matches thus far. Milan face Monza at noon on Paramount+.
• Joe Scally and Borussia Mônchengladbach face Eintracht Frankfurt at 12:30p on ESPN+. Scally has started every match for ‘Gladbach this season as the team currently sits 6th in the Bundesliga table.

Sunday

Leeds v Fulham FC - 9a on CNBC

We’ll have four Americans on the field and another on the sideline, which we’re going to go ahead and blindly call the most American influence in an EPL match without actually fact checking ourselves. Jesse Marsch, Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Adams and Leeds host Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson and Fulham desperately needing a result. After a hot start to the season with 7 points in their first 3 matches, including a 3-0 thumping of Chelsea, Leeds have gone on to lose 5 of their past 7, picking up just 2 points over that span. They now sit tied with two other teams for the final relegation spot, including an Aston Villa side that they drew three weeks ago and who just sacked their manager following a 3-0 loss to Fulham.

Many projected Fulham to be the side that would struggle with relegation this season, but following their win over Aston Villa they have now picked up 15 points through 11 matches, which is good enough for positioning in the top half of the table. Tim Ream continues to captain the side, having played all but 2 minutes of their league matches thus far, and Antonee Robinson has returned from injury to slot back in on the left.

Other notes:

• Djordje Mihailovic and CF Montreal host NYCFC in the first MLS conference semifinal of the day at 1p on ESPN.
• The second MLS conference semifinal sees Austin FC hosting Jesus Ferreira, Paul Arriola, and FC Dallas at 8p on ESPN.

Streaming overseas:

• Jordan Pefok and Union Berlin look to keep their hold on the top spot in the Bundesliga as they travel to face last place Bochum at 9:30a on ESPN+.
• Tim Weah and Lille face Monaco at 2:45p on beIN Sport. Weah picked up two assists for Lille last weekend in their 3-0 win over Strasbourg.

Keep the party going in the comments with all the action from this weekend’s matches.