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Americans Abroad: A Look Ahead

Jonathan Spector 5 (Getty Images)  

By FRANCO PANIZO

Jonathan Spector and West Ham United are feeling the mounting pressure to avoid relegation after having lost their last six games, but ending that unkind streak won't be an easy task to accomplish this weekend.

Spector and West Ham travel to Goodison Park on Saturday to butt heads with Everton, which has lost just once in its last six games. To remain out of the drop zone, West Ham will likely have to make the most of its chances and be stout defensively in order to pull out a positive result against Tim Howard and the Toffees.

Jozy Altidore and Hull City will be hoping that West Ham drops its seventh consecutive decision as they look to climb out of the relegation zone in place of the Hammers. Still in search for his second goal of the season, Altidore will likely get the nod when Hull plays Stoke City after enjoying a solid first outing under new manager Iain Dowie.

Another forward that could get the start for his club this weekend is Herculez Gomez, who is coming off his latest goal-scoring performance. Gomez will look to add to his seven league goals and keep his World Cup dreams alive when Puebla plays Morelia. 

Here is a rundown of who Americans Abroad will be playing this weekend:

FRIDAY

Zak Whitbread and Norwich City play Tranmere Rovers.

Gale Agbossoumonde and Sporting Braga play Guimaraes.

Marcus Tracy, Chris Rolfe and Aalborg BK play Sonderjsyke. 

 

(Tracy is out injured.)

SATURDAY

Jozy Altidore and Hull City play Stoke City.

Marcus Hahnemann and Wolverhampton Wanderers play Arsenal.

Brad Friedel, Brad Guzan and Aston Villa play Stuart Holden and Bolton Wanderers. (Holden is out injured.)

Jay DeMerit and Watford play Preston North End.

Kenny Cooper and Plymouth Argyle play Doncaster Rovers.

Frank Simek and Sheffield Wednesday play Queens Park Rangers.

Mike Grella and Leeds United play Swindon Town.

Eric Lichaj and Leyton Orient play Hartlepool United.

Jemal Johnson and Stockport County play Walsall.

Jon-Paul Pittman and Wycombe Wanderers play Huddersfield Town.

DaMarcus Beasley, Maurice Edu and Rangers play Hamilton Academical.

Oguchi Onyewu and AC Milan play Cagliari.

Jermaine Jones and Schalke 04 play Bayern Munich. (Jones is out injured.)

Ricardo Clark and Eintracht Frankfurt play Bayer Leverkusen.

Michael Bradley and Borussia Moenchengladbach play VfB Stuttgart.

Jared Jeffrey and Mainz 05 play Nurnberg.

Daniel Williams and SC Freiburg play VfL Bochum.

Carlos Bocanegra and Stade Rennes play Lyon.

Charlie Davies and Sochaux play Nice.

Herculez Gomez and Puebla play Morelia.

Marco Vidal and Indios de Ciudad Juarez play Jose Francisco Torres and Pachuca.

Edgar Castillo and Tigres UANL play San Luis.

SUNDAY

Tim Howard and Everton play Jonathan Spector and West Ham United.

Clint Dempsey and Fulham play Wigan Athletic.

Dominic Cervi and Celtic play Hibernian.

Steve Cherundolo, Sal Zizzo and Hannover 96 play Hamburg SV. (Zizzo is out injured.)

Matt Taylor and FSV Frankfurt play Arminia Bielefeld.

Luis Robles and Kaiserslautern play RW Oberhausen.

David Yeldell and TUS Koblenz play SC Paderborn 07.

Benny Feilhaber and AGF Aarhus play Randers FC.

Michael Hoyos and Estudiantes La Plata play Banfield.

MONDAY

Frank Simek and Sheffield Wednesday play Bristol City.

Jay DeMerit and Watford play West Bromwich Albion.

Kenny Cooper and Plymouth Argyle play Middlesbrough.

Mike Grella and Leeds United play Yeovil Town.

Zak Whitbread and Norwich City play Jemal Johnson and Stockport County.

Eric Lichaj and Leyton Orient play Southampton.

Jon-Paul Pittman and Wycombe Wanderers play Walsall.

Marcus Tracy, Chris Rolfe and Aalborg BK play Silkeborg IF. (Tracy is out injured.)

Michael Parkhurst and FC Nordsjaelland play FC Copenhagen.

Alejandro Bedoya and Orebro SK play AIK.

Clarence Goodson, Hunter Freeman and IK Start play Valerenga.

Mikkel Diskerud and Stabaek play Tromso.

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Which Americans Abroad match are you most looking forward to? Which players do you see having a big impact? Who do you see as having more of a chance to avoid relegation this season, Altidore and Hull City or Spector and West Ham? Think Gomez will score again?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Does Altidore’s record also reflect the number of penalty kicks he has drawn for his team and the number of Yellow and Red cards he has drawn on opposing players? How about the impact he has had in drawing the attention of the defense away from others who have thus had the opportunity to score. Jozy may have struggled to find the back of the net, but his impact is hard to measure in a box score.

    Hull’s problem hasn’t been in scoring goals, its been in keeping their opponents from scoring. Last I checked, forwards weren’t generally held accountable for playing defense in the final third.

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  2. Between Spector’s West Ham and Altidore’s Hull City, my eyes will be firmly fixed on the Tigers’ match. After scoring only one goal in his last 23 appearances for Hull, Altidore’s record reflects just why he and his teammates are on the brink of relegation. Saturday’s game against Stoke however could see the tables finally beginning to turn after Stoke have won just one game in their last 6. A win on Saturday would see Hull overtake West Ham and clear themselves from relegation, and if that isn’t motivation enough for Dowie’s men, what is?

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  3. I would rather see Hull go down. West Ham is a storied club and relegation could lead to their going into administration. It will be tough enough for Spector under what will, I presume, be a new manager.

    Jozy is still young, still under contract with Villreal – and actually, I wouldn’t mind seeing him due a stint for a top Championship team – think the playing time and experience would do him good.

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  4. I thought Edgar Castillo was out 3 weeks with an injury to “ligamento colateral medial”(MCL?) in the right knee.
    Since we’re not supposed to post links I’m sure y’all can figure out how to use your favorite search engine to verify this.

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  5. We need updated x-rays posted along with the daily Physical therapy notes…and copies of the pain charts showing the current level of pain with sad-face—-happy-face spectrum

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  6. Nope,

    it’s the sametime for everyone this time. So most of us are actually celebrating (don’t know if that’s the right word) Easter when it should be celebrated.

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  7. Hull has an option to buy the contract at the end fo the season. If they stay up, they might have the money and the willingness to exercise the option. If Hull is sent down, forget about it

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  8. I’m sure we’ll see a post to this effect later on, but Ashley Cole is on course to be back for Chelsea by the end of the season and should be ready for the World Cup. I take this as good news. I want to play a full strength England, and I want Ashley Cole to be terrified when he goes up against Landon Donovan again.

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  9. Glad to see Leeds playing so many matches in so few days, maybe we get to see Grella with some nice match time. Leeds supporters say he was one of the few bright spots from last week…

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  10. I don’t think they play this weekend. The Aris fans on BigSoccer usually start a game thread a week in advanced and there isn’t one.

    EJ did play on the 31st in the Greek All-Star game.

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  11. I’m still rooting for Wigan to blow it down the stretch. They have a very tough schedule, while Hull has it relatively easy and West ham could pull it out with a few wins.

    Sadly, I don’t think another EPL team would acquire Spector if West Ham went down, so the Hammers need to stay up.

    Reply
  12. If Pittman doesn’t start playing more and doing well I wouldn’t mind a move to MLS especially if Wycombe are relegated.

    Reply

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