USMNT midweek viewing guide: Fighting for position

As the March World Cup qualifying window grows nearer, American players have key matches, both at home and abroad. Let’s get into it!

Tuesday

• West Bromwich Albion v Fulham, 4p on ESPN+: Antonee “Jedi” Robinson and Tim Ream are 12 pts clear at the top of the table with Fulham. Daryl Dike’s West Brom have fallen to 14th, with the 21-year-old striker out injured since late January, but back in training as of last Thurssday.
• Comunicaciones v NYCFC, 8p on FS2, TUDN, fuboTV (free trial), Sling TV, FoxSports.com, TUDN.com: Sean Johnson, Keaton Parks, Tayvon Gray, and Andres Jasson make the trip back to Guatemala City, bringing a 3-1 lead from the first leg in CCL.

Also in action:

• Crotone v Frosinone, 1:30p: Andrija Novakovich has played in 11 straight for Frosinone, picking up 1 goal and 4 assists in that time. The club has won 2 of 3, and is likely to make promotion playoffs.
• Dijon v Le Havre, 2p: Amir Richardson was an unused sub last time out, breaking a streak of 6 straight appearances. Le Havre are 6th in Ligue 2, but have lost 3 of 5.
• Bayern II v Eltersdorf, 2p: Taylor Booth and Bayern’s reserves are both finding life a little too easy in Germany’s fourth tier. Bayern II were relegated from the 3. Liga last year and could make a quick return. Last time out, Booth scored a goal and helped create another. Before that, Booth had 4 assists in his last 8 games. He’ll join Utrecht in the Eredivisie this summer.
• Birmingham City v Middlesbrough, 3:45p: Folarin Balogun and Middlesbrough are 1 point out of promotion playoffs in the Championship.
• Monterrey v Juárez, 11:06p, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes+, fuboTV, Sling TV, WatchESPN: Ventura Alvarado was an unused sub for the Bravos of Juárez last week, having played 85% of possible minutes in the first 8 games of the season.

Wednesday

• Mainz v Borussia Dortmund, 1:30p on ESPN+ (free trial): Gio Reyna played his first game back from injury on Sunday, a 30’ shift vs Bielefeld. American teammate Lennard Maloney was also a late sub in that match. Dortmund have a game in hand on first-place Bayern, and can pull within 4 pts of the leaders with a win.
• Lille v Chelsea, 4p on Galavision, Paramount+, fuboTV, Sling TV, TUDN.com: Christian Pulisic scored a goal and put on a strong all-around performance in the first leg of this tie, as #22 Tim Weah was an unused sub on his 22nd birthday on 2/22/22. We’ll see if Weah and the French side can fare better at home.
• CF Montréal v Cruz Azul, 8p on FS2, TUDN, fuboTV, Sling TV, FoxSports.com, TUDN.com: Djordje Mihailovic and Montreal return home for the second leg of this CCL matchup, trailing 0-1 to their Liga MX foes.
• Pumas UNAM v New England Revolution, 10:15p on FS1, TUDN, fuboTV, Sling TV, FoxSports.com, TUDN.com: Sebastian Lletget, DeJuan Jones, and the Revs took a 3-0 lead at home in the first leg. Matt Turner seems unlikely to return for this one.

Also in action:

• Wolfsberg v RB Salzburg, 1p: Brenden Aaronson and Salzburg are in the Austrian cup semi-final.
• Ascoli v Pisa, 1:30p on Fox Soccer Plus, fuboTV: Anthony Fontana has joined Ascoli in Serie B, but is yet to make his Italian debut.
• Viktoria Berlin v Zwickau, 2p: 20-year-old forward Johan Gomez has 5 goals and 4 assists for Zwickau in Germany’s third tier this season, playing in 27 of 29 games.
• Millwall v Huddersfield, 3:45p on ESPN+: Duane Holmes has put in strong performances vs Peterborough and vs Nottingham Forest in the past two weeks. Rumored personal problems may prevent him from joining the USMNT this month, but his play on the field suggests he could be a valuable depth piece with Weston McKennie out injured.
• Nottingham Forest v QPR, 3:45p: Ethan Horvath appears to have won the starting job at Forest, at least for now. He was also recently awarded Save of the Round in the FA Cup, and is rumored to join up with the US for qualifying.
• Juventus v Villarreal, 4p on TUDN, UniMás, Paramount+, fuboTV, TUDN.com: La Vecchia Signora will have to try to advance in Champions League without Weston McKennie. They bring a 1-1 aggregate score to their home leg.
• Arsenal v Liverpool, 4:15p on Peacock: Zak Swanson has made Arsenal’s bench in their past three league matches. The 20-year-old is an English-American dual-national, capable of playing wide on either side, or even in defensive midfield.

Thursday

• Galatasaray v FC Barcelona, 1:45p on TUDN, UniMás, Paramount+, fuboTV, TUDN.com: Sergiño Dest and Barça were unable to take the lead with a 0-0 result at home. They travel to Turkey with everything to do in the Europa League second leg.
• Feyenoord v Partizan Belgrade, 4p on Paramount+, fuboTV, TUDN.com: Cole Bassett has made 2 Eredivisie appearances for 5’ total, and stayed on the bench for Feyenoord’s last two. The Dutch club bring a whopping 5-2 lead to the home leg in the Conference League; this game could be a great opportunity for youngsters like Bassett.
• León v Seattle Sounders, 8:30p FS1, TUDN, fuboTV, Sling TV, FoxSports.com, TUDN.com: Jordan Morris, Cristian Roldan, and Obed Vargas smashed León 3-0 at home in CCL, and will be very confident as they travel to Guanajuato.

Also in action:

• Crvena zvezda v Rangers FC, 1:45p on Paramount+, fuboTV, TUDN.com: James Sands made a 15’ cameo in Rangers’ 3-0 win over Red Star Belgrade in the first leg. Sands and the Scottish club will be looking to finish out the series away in Serbia.
• Basel v Marseille, 1:45p on Paramount+, fuboTV, TUDN.com: Konrad de la Fuente has been an unused sub in the three games since Marseille manager Sampaoli said he was unhappy with the young winger’s professionalism. Last time out (also a Conference League match), Konrad scored a goal in an 8’ cameo vs Qarabag. Marseille leads the series 2-1.
• København v PSV, 1:45p on Paramount+, fuboTV, TUDN.com: Richy Ledezma was a surprise inclusion in PSV’s squad for their Eredivisie match with Utrecht Sunday, after missing almost two months due to yet another injury. This Conference League tie stands 4-4 after a wild first leg.
• Eintracht Frankfurt v Real Betis, 4p on Paramount+, fuboTV, TUDN.com: Timmy Chandler stayed on the bench as Frankfurt beat Betis 2-1 on the road in the first leg. The German club are in strong position to advance in the Europa League.

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