By FRANCO PANIZO
Steve Cherundolo may be dealing with the disappointment of being bounced out of the Europa League, but this weekend provides him an opportunity to rebound and help his club in its quest to an even bigger tournament.
Cherundolo and Hannover 96 take on Schalke 04 on Sunday in a game that could improve their odds of claiming fourth place and the Champions League qualifiers berth that comes with it. Cherundolo and Hannover will be on the road, so a complete performance likely will be needed in order for them to pull off an upset. Jermaine Jones will not suit up for third-place Schalke 04 this weekend, as he serves a suspension for a yellow card accumulation.
Clint Dempsey is also in store for an interesting weekend. Dempsey will try and repeat the type of performance he had last week, when he scored and assisted in a Fulham win, when faces off versus fellow U.S. international Tim Ream on Saturday. That will be followed by a short turnaround before the Cottagers' game versus Chelsea on Monday.
Wondering what else is worth keeping an eye on? Look no further than TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's clash with Kaiserslautern. For Kaiserslautern the match is important, as a loss would severely dampen their hopes of a late push to avoid relegation. The game won't mean much for Hoffenheim in terms of place in the table, but it could mark the Bundesliga debut of Joe Gyau.
Here is who the Americans Abroad face this weekend:
Robbie Rogers and Leeds United play Reading.
Daniel Potts and West Ham United play Barnsley.
Frank Simek and Carlisle United play Wycombe Wanderers.
Sacha Kljestan and RSC Anderlecht play Standard Liege in the Belgian playoffs.
SATURDAY
Brad Friedel and Tottenham Hotspur play Sunderland.
Stuart Holden, Tim Ream and Bolton Wanderers play Clint Dempsey and Fulham. (Holden is out injured.)
Brad Guzan, Eric Lichaj and Aston Villa play Liverpool.
Zak Whitbread and Norwich City play Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann and Everton.
Adam Henley and Blackburn Rovers play West Bromwich Albion.
Jonathan Spector and Birmingham City play Crystal Palace. (Spector is out injured.)
Conor Doyle and Derby County play Ipswich Town. (Doyle is out injured.)
Robbie Findley and Nottingham Forest play Bristol City.
Mike Grella and Bury play Brentford.
Anton Peterlin and Walsall play Chesterfield.
Dominic Cervi and Celtic play Kilmarnock.
Maurice Edu, Alejandro Bedoya, Carlos Bocanegra and Rangers play St Mirren.
Michael Bradley and Chievo Verona play Catania.
Andrew Wooten and Kaiserslautern play Fabian Johnson, Danny Williams, Joe Gyau and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
Timmy Chandler and FC Nurnberg play SC Freiburg.
Terrence Boyd and Borussia Dortmund play VfL Wolfsburg.
Alfredo Morales and Hertha Berlin play Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Quentin Westberg and Evian Thonon Gaillard play Stade Rennes.
Charlie Davies and Sochaux play Montpellier.
Eugene Starikov and Zenit St Petersburg play Lokomotiv Moscow.
Mix Diskerud and KAA Gent play Racing Genk in the Belgian playoffs.
Samuel Petrone and Mjallby AIF play Orebro SK.
Michael Orozco Fiscal and San Luis play Adrian Ruelas and Jaguares de Chiapas.
Herculez Gomez and Santos Laguna play Estudiantes Tecos U.A. de G.
Jonathan Bornstein and Tigres UANL play Monterrey.
SUNDAY
Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 play Jermaine Jones and Schalke 04.
David Yelldell and Bayer Leverkusen play Hamburg SV.
Matt Taylor and SC Paderborn 07 play Bobby Wood and TSV 1860 Munich.
Luis Robles and Karlsruher SC play VfL Bochum.
Chris Rolfe and Aalborg BK play Silkeborg IF.
Michael Parkhurst and FC Nordsjaelland play FC Midtjylland.
DaMarcus Beasley and Puebla play Toluca.
Jose Torres and Pachuca play Pumas UNAM.
Joe Corona, Edgar Castillo, Greg Garza and Club Tijuana play Sonny Guadarrama and Atlante.
MONDAY
Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann and Everton play Sunderland.
Stuart Holden, Tim Ream and Bolton Wanderers play Newcastle United. (Holden is out injured.)
Brad Friedel and Tottenham Hotspur play Zak Whitbread and Norwich City.
Brad Guzan, Eric Lichaj and Aston Villa play Stoke City.
Clint Dempsey and Fulham play Chelsea.
Robbie Rogers and Leeds United play Conor Doyle and Derby County. (Doyle is out injured.)
Robbie Findley and Nottingham Forest play Peterborough United.
Daniel Potts and West Ham United play Jonathan Spector and Birmingham City. (Spector is out injured.)
Mike Grella and Bury play Colchester United.
Anton Peterlin and Walsall play Charlton Athletic.
Frank Simek and Carlisle United play Scunthorpe United.
Oguchi Onyewu and Sporting CP play Benfica. (Onyewu is out injured.)
Conor O'Brien and SonderjyskE play Odense BK.
Clarence Goodson and Brondby IF play Brad Rusin and HB Koge.
Ricardo Clark, Sean Cunningham and Stabaek IF play Tromso.
Steve Clark and Honefoss BK play Fredrikstad.
Josh Gatt and Molde FK play Brann.
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Which matches are you most looking forward to? Do you see Cherundolo and Hannover winning this weekend? Think Dempsey will fare well with two matches in three days? Will we see the Bundesliga debut of Gyau?
Share your thoughts below.
Villa supporters have been pretty high on Lichaj since his performance against Chelsea this past weekend, but fans don’t make team selection. I would not be surprised to see Hutton back in the lineup if he’s healthy.
Any chance Eric Lichaj plays again?