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Americans Abroad: Weekend Preview

By FRANCO PANIZO

The weekend may be light on matches due to several European leagues being on their winter breaks, but that does not mean there are no intriguing games to follow.

That is especially true for the Americans Abroad contingent. Fresh off of scoring a goal in a midweek Copa Del Rey match, Oguchi Onyewu could find himself playing against Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and the rest of Real Madrid when Malaga host the Spanish heavyweights on Saturday. Real Madrid currently sit in third place in La Liga, but fourth-place Malaga will close the gap if they can pull out a surprising win.

Michael Bradley may also partake in one of the weekend’s marquee games. Roma is set to face AC Milan in a battle between the sixth- and seventh-placed teams in Serie A, and Bradley and his club will need a result to prevent Milan from leapfrogging them in the standings.

Wondering what other match might be worth watching? Look no further than a battle between Americans when Clint Dempsey, Brad Friedel and Tottenham host Geoff Cameron, Maurice Edu and Stoke City. The Potters have not lost in their last seven games, but they will need a big performance to keep that streak alive against a Spurs side that has won five of their last six matches.

Here is who the Americans Abroad square off against this weekend:

FRIDAY

Conor Doyle and Derby County play Hull City.

Jozy Altidore and AZ Alkmaar play Twente Enschede.

SATURDAY

Clint Dempsey, Brad Friedel and Tottenham Hotspur play Geoff Cameron, Maurice Edu and Stoke City.

Sebastian Lletget and West Ham United play Tim Howard and Everton.

Jonathan Spector, Will Packwood and Birmingham City play Burnley.

Zak Whitbread and Leicester City play Cardiff City.

Tim Ream, Stuart Holden and Bolton Wanderers play Peterborough United.

Robbie Findley and Nottingham Forest play Watford.

Robbie Rogers and Stevenage play Brentford.

Mike Grella and Scunthorpe United play Frank Simek and Carlisle United.

Oguchi Onyewu and Malaga play Real Madrid.

Carlos Bocanegra and Racing Santander play Guadalajara.

Michael Bradley and AS Roma play AC Milan.

SUNDAY

Brad Guzan, Eric Lichaj and Aston Villa play Chelsea.

Sacha Kljestan and RSC Anderlecht play Racing Genk.

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Which of these games are you most looking forward to? How do you think Onyewu would fare against Ronaldo and the rest of Real Madrid? Expecting Bradley and Roma to beat AC Milan?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

    • Supposedly not good enough but sources say he will either get a few more appearances in the new year or will be loaned out. It just boggles he mind that Pulis that praised Edu a bunch whole trying to sigb him and in nearly 4months has only played 10mins. No injuries that we know of

      Reply
      • To add to what I wrote below, I just looked at Pulis’ comments when Edu signed, and they gave me the distinct impression that Tony had seen very little of Edu prior to the signing.

    • I’m not sure how anyone could be terribly surprised about Edu’s problems at Stoke. If you had watched much of him at Rangers you would have realized he is a limited player who would struggle in a top 3/4 league. There’s a reason why the majority of his suitors were in France and Turkey.

      In response to Nato, what “praise” are you talking about wrt Pulis? He said some boilerplate complimentary things about Edu upon signing him, nothing more. Have you ever seen a situation where a manager signs a player and doesn’t say nice things about said player?

      Reply
      • Edu was one of the better midfielders in the SPL so him not playing comes down to familirity with the league and getting acclimated…..Pulis comes off as one those managers who doesn’t want to tinker with a good thing bc they have been getting points albeit draws for the most part, so its going to take time to settle in……i think edu can do better than Stoke to be honest bc of the style they play which is unkind to possesion and attack oriented soccer! Edu hopefully gets loaned out but he’s definately PL material albeit midlevel quality…..edu didn’t look out of depth playing champs league football

      • One of the better midfielders in the SPL…that’s damning him with faint praise. His midfield mate for the past few seasons, Steven Davis (who was also one of the better midfielders in the SPL, and frankly a more gifted footballer than Edu) is riding the pine at Southampton. Frankly, the fact that Edu and Davis were two of the better midfielders in the SPL says a lot about the lack of quality in that league.

        No, Edu’s lack of playing time has nothing to do with “getting acclimated”, it’s just that he’s simply not good enough.

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