USMNT weekend viewing guide: A Premier matchup

Sunday morning in the Premier League gives us the opportunity for a real clash of Americans as Chelsea FC and Leeds meet. But, there is a host of other USMNT club action as well, so let’s take it in order and see how we’re filling our time:

Friday

Borussia Mönchengladbach v Hertha Berlin 2:45p on ESPN+

Joe Scally has opened the 2022-23 campaign with two straight starts at right back as Borussia Mönchengladbach has a win and a draw in their first two matches. Scally has started over a fit Stefan Lainer, which indicates that his standings in the pecking order is stronger coming into this year than it was last year when Scally was initially making the field at left and right back due to injuries.

Four points through their first two matches is a solid start to the season for ‘Gladbach and good enough for joint third place in the table, but the wins have come over Hoffenheim and newly (re)promoted Schalke, so it has not been Murderers’ Row. ‘Gladbach have also given up three goals in the two matches, so there is room for defensive improvement.

‘Gladbach’s opponent this weekend, Hertha Berlin, opened the season with a 3-1 loss to Union Berlin and played Eintracht Frankfurt to a 1-1 draw. Hertha narrowly avoided relegation last season and early signs are it could be another long year for the Berlin side.

Other notes:

• Eric Palmer-Brown and Troyes look for their first points of the season, having opened the campaign with a pair of defeats in which they conceded three goals per match. They will face Olympique Lyonnais at 3p on beIN Sports.
• Josh Sargent picked up his first goal of the season when he got the start at the 9 on Tuesday. He’ll look to build on that success when Norwich City take on Millwall at 3p on ESPN+.
• The LA Galaxy host Cristian Roldan, Jordan Morris, and the Seattle Sounders at 10p on ESPN.

Saturday

Fulham FC v Brentford – 10a on Peacock

Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson and Fulham have opened the season with two draws, which is not a dream start. Still, it is a pretty solid result for a newly promoted side, particularly when you consider they were facing a midtable club in Wolverhampton Wanderers and stealing points off of title-contending Liverpool.

This weekend’s matchup comes against a Brentford side that were bottom half of the Premier League table last year but are notably coming off a 4-0 thumping of Manchester United and have picked up four points in their first three matches to sit 3^rd in the early season standings. It will be interesting to see if a matchup against newly promoted Fulham is a letdown game for Brentford or if they are able to maintain some level of momentum from last weekend to come out and start a serious streak.

Other notes:

• Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen face off at 9:30a in a match that will be broadcast on ESPN. Unfortunately, Giovanni Reyna did not travel with Dortmund last weekend and, based on Edin Terzic’s comments about his squad depth, it seems likely Reyna will be eased along.

Streaming overseas:

• Ricardo Pepi has found minutes hard to come by early on as he barely saw the field last weekend in Augsburg’s 2-1 win over Bayern Leverkusen. Augsburg face Mainz this weekend at 9:30a on ESPN+.
• Pellegrino Matarazzo and Stuttgart look for their first win of the season when they face Freiburg at 9:30a on ESPN+.
• Jordan Pefok and Union Berlin take on RB Leipzig at 12:30p on ESPN+. Union are coming off a scoreless draw with Mainz, while Leipzig are looking for their first win of the season.

MLS Mashup (all games streaming on ESPN+):

• Aaron Long and the New York Red Bulls take on Brandon Vasquez and FC Cincinnati at 6p.
• Jack McGlynn, Quinn Sullivan, Paxten Aaronson and the Philadelphia Union visit DC United at 7:30p. McGlynn looks like a regular starter, while Aaronson and Sullivan have been making appearances off the bench.
• Djordje Mihailovic and CF Montreal take on the New England Revolution at 7:30p.
• Minnesota United hosts Austin FC at 8p.
• DeAndre Yedlin’s Inter Miami hosts suddenly surging Toronto FC and the Bradleys at 8p.
• The Colorado Rapids host the Houston Dynamo at 9p.
• Real Salt Lake face the Vancouver Whitecaps at 10p. Diego Luna did not make it off the bench in RSL’s 2-1 win over Seattle last weekend.
• Jeremy Ebobisse and the San Jose Earthquakes face Kellyn Acosta and LAFC at 10p.

Sunday

Leeds United v Chelsea FC – 9a on USA Network

The American matchup in the Premier League is Sunday morning as Jesse Marsch’s Leeds United host Christian Pulisic and Chelsea FC. Leeds are coming off a 2-2 draw with Southampton, not a terrible result in a vacuum but fairly disappointing after they held an early two goal lead. Brendan Aaronson and Tyler Adams have started both matches and shown that they belong, Aaronson through his goal creation and Adams currently leading the league in tackles.

Christian Pulisic has certainly shown over the past couple of years that he can play at an EPL level as well, though recent signs suggest that perhaps this won’t be at Chelsea with reports going so far as to suggest that Thomas Tuchel “doesn’t trust” the American. Pulisic saw just six minutes off the bench last weekend in Chelsea’s explosive 2-2 draw with Tottenham. Chelsea were rather dominant in possession but let a 2-1 lead slip away in the dying moments as Harry Kane’s header drew Spurs level. Both managers received red cards after the final whistle so Marsch (and Pulisic?) won’t deal with a direct confrontation with the manager this Sunday.

Other notes:

• The Columbus Crew face Atlanta United at 5:30p on FS1.
• Sporting Kansas City host the Portland Timbers at 7:30p on FS1. Eryk Williamson continues to work his way back for the Timbers.

Streaming overseas:

• Timothy Chandler is still looking for his first minutes with Eintracht Frankfurt this season. The club face Köln at 9:30a on ESPN+.
• Yunus Musah and Valencia face Athletic Bilbao at 11:30a on ESPN Deportes and ESPN+. Musah started in the midfield for Valencia last weekend in their 1-0 win over Girona.
• Timothy Weah likely remains out this weekend with transfer rumors swirling and Lille set to host Paris Saint-Germain at 2:45p on beIN Sports.
• Neither Jonathan Gomez nor Sergiño Dest made their respective teams’ gameday squads last weekend, with Gomez still looking to break through at Real Sociedad and Barcelona apparently trying to force Dest out. The two teams meet up at 4p on ESPN+.

MLS Mashup (all matches on ESPN+):

• Gaga Slonina and the Chicago Fire look to bounce back from a mistake-marred 4-1 loss as they face sliding NYCFC at 6p.
• Walker Zimmerman and Nashville host FC Dallas and leading scorer Jesus Ferreira at 8:30p. Ferreira was assisted by Paul Arriola again on Wednesday and has 15 goals and 5 assists in 21 matches this season.

Bonus Monday action:

• Weston McKennie made a quick recovery from his dislocated shoulder to start for Juventus last Monday in their 3-0 win over Sassuolo. The team has another Monday fixture this week as they take on Sampdoria at 2:45p on Paramount+.