By FRANCO PANIZO
If Eddie Johnson is to end his nine-month scoring drought this weekend, he'll have to do so against a fellow American.
Johnson and cellar-dwellers Preston North End face Hull City and Brad Guzan, who will look to record his third cleansheet for the club. Johnson started and went the distance in Preston's match last week, so it is likely he'll have ample opportunity to find the back of the net against Guzan and a Hull team still thinking of a possible promotion.
That isn't the only match-up between an American field player and goalkeeper. Stuart Holden and Bolton Wanderers take on Tim Howard and Everton in an intriguing game between two teams with just three combined wins since the start of the new year.
Looking for another match worth following? Look no further than Leeds United's match against Bristol City. Recently sent on loan to sixth-place Leeds, Eric Lichaj will make his debut for the Championship club as it looks to keep its promotion play-off spot.
Here is a rundown of who the Americans Abroad play this weekend:
FRIDAY
David Yelldell and MSV Duisburg FC Erzgebirge Aue.
SATURDAY
Marcus Hahnemann and Wolverhampton Wanderers play Arsenal.
Jermaine Jones and Blackburn Rovers play Newcastle United.
Brad Friedel, Michael Bradley and Aston Villa play Blackpool.
Jonathan Spector and West Ham United play West Bromwich Albion.
Mike Grella, Eric Lichaj and Leeds United play Bristol City.
Brad Guzan and Hull City play Eddie Johnson and Preston North End.
Zak Whitbread and Norwich City play Reading.
Conor Doyle and Derby County play Leicester City.
Anton Peterlin and Plymouth Argyle play Tranmere Rovers.
Frank Simek and Carlisle United play Southampton.
Maurice Edu and Rangers and play Motherwell.
Ricardo Clark and Eintracht Frankfurt play Bayer Leverkusen. (Clark is out injured.)
Daniel Williams and SC Freiburg play Schalke 04. (Williams is out injured.)
Timothy Chandler and FC Nurnberg play VfB Stuttgart.
Charlie Davies and FC Sochaux play Marseille. (Davies is trialling with D.C. United.)
Carlos Bocanegra and St Etienne play Lyon.
Quentin Westberg and Evian Thonon Gaillard play Chateauroux.
Oguchi Onyewu and Twente Enschede play Vitesse Arnhem.
Sacha Kljestan and RSC Anderlecht play Cercle Brugge KSV.
Jose Torres, Herculez Gomez and Pachuca play Edgar Castillo and Puebla.
Jonathan Bornstein and Tigres UANL play Cruz Azul.
Sonny Guadarrama and Atlante play San Luis.
SUNDAY
Stuart Holden and Bolton Wanderers play Tim Howard and Everton.
Robbie Findley and Nottingham Forest play Queens Park Rangers. (Findley is out injured.)
Dominic Cervi and Celtic play Dundee United.
Steve Cherundolo, DaMarcus Beasley and Hannover 96 play Werder Bremen.
Amaechi Igwe, Edson Buddle and FC Ingolstadt 04 play Fortuna Dusseldorf. (Igwe is out injured.)
Luis Robles and Karlsruhe play Alfredo Morales and Hertha Berlin.
Jozy Altidore and Bursaspor play Eskisehirspor K.
Freddy Adu and Rizespor play Erciyesspor.
Sammy Ochoa and Estudiantes Tecos U.A. de G. play Morelia.
MONDAY
Clint Dempsey and Fulham play Chelsea.
Bobby Wood and TSV 1860 Munich play FC Erzgebirge Aue.
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Do you think Johnson will score, or will Guzan get his third cleansheet? How do you see Holden and Bolton against Howard and Everton turning out? Think Lichaj will get the start?
Share your thoughts below.
freddy adu was supposed to start, but is now out with a calf injury, sayv ives on twitter
Saw on the sky sports ticker last night that Lichaj gets the start for Leeds this weekend. Great move for the kid.
Last game he played quite well against them. And the first time he played them I recall he broke John Terry’s cheekbone. Oh good times 😛 and of course the brace in late December 08. That put him on the map. I’m really hoping he scores.
Fulham’s top league scorer in a season was Louis Saha with 13. And McBride has the highest goals in the PL with 32. Dempsey has 9 for the season and 30 league goals all together. He could break records.
he played like 2 or 3 games under 10mins. He had 1 game where he got 30mins. But he’s been injured for like a month or 2. Hannover has been doing quite well and could finish with a Europa League spot. I think Beasley was brought as depth. He was cheap and had experience and again cheap. Hope he can make a full appearance this part of the season and make a case for himself.
And he won’t be coming back to MLS. He makes easily $800,000 a season even if he rides the bench. He won’t be leaving that behind for $200,000 in MLS. He’s young and single. don’t bet on a return for a few years.
Good point. I think Kljestan will find it harder and harder to break back into the NT besides occasional call ups where he warms the bench. He’s 25 and is either a sub or get occasional starts for his club team. Best team in Belgium of course. He has to fight more to solidify his spot.
Feilhaber is a talented guy and his team most likely will be promoted back to the Danish SuperLiga but he won’t be starting anytime soon. He should be used as a “impact sub” ala Confederations Cup and World Cup.
BRACE FOR DEMPSEY AGAINST CHELSEA ON MONDAY. THANK GOD IT’S ON ESPN2.
Can I get a amen?
EJ was quite good in Greece. Scored 5 goals in 16 matches. Not bad for a mid-table club. Hopefully he could do it again. I have a feeling he’s headed back to Greece or Turkey or Holland come summer.
I guess he plans to keep his head warm while he sits on the bench…
When I saw the EJ photo, I thought “Wayne Brady, impersonating Michael Jackson.”
Which is nice.
Clint has had so many clutch performances. I think this one (against Chelsea a couple of years back) gets overlooked. Both of these goals were straight class…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wig8t3QZSM&feature=related
or another brace 🙂
I am actually really excited for Eric Lichaj play for Leeds in a promotion battle in the Championship. I think it’s a perfect place for a young American to develop/prove his skills!
Well he did just tweet that he got a new hat. So he’s got that going for him.
I’ve got a really good feeling about this meekend… Lots of PT and like 4 goals for Americans Abroad… I’m usually much less optimistic. Who’s with me!?
I hope he scores 2 as long as Chelsea score 3.
I’ll settle for him dressing…..
Because BB has said many times that every player has to earn their call up, regardless of your history with the MNT. A starter for a champions league caliber team would certainly have earned that privilege over a guy in the 2nd division of Denmark. Now, with that said I do think feilhaber is a damn good player, but what you do and who you play for matters, so in this case my opinion is that Kljestan gets the nod. Remember, this whole scenario assumes Kljestan breaks into the starting XI. We’ll see.
Clint Dempsey always comes up big against Chelsea. I could see him getting at least an assist.
+1
Yeah, we need more players in Danish 2nd division on USMNT. Or…not.
DaMarcus Beasley…how many minutes has he gotten this season? Can’t be more than 30 total….can it?
I don’t agree. Benny just brings a skill set that no one else in our pool really has.
ahh, that one cracked me up!
Why?
Why trust the Wikipedia?
Eddie Johnson!!!
Eddie Johnson!!!
Eddie Johnson!!!
that’s good
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporaci%C3%B3n_Deportiva_Am%C3%A9rica
??? He’s def there
He’s not listed on their wikipedia page.
SUNDAY: Diego Restrepo and America Cali host Pereira
Finally an uncontroversial statement we can all hang our hats on… thanks Ed
Brad Guzan has a better chance at a hat trick than EJ
I would like to see Kljestan get good minutes with anderlecht. They’re a very good club and if he breaks into their lineup consistently, you would have to put him ahead of Feilhaber in the Gold Cup pecking order.
I’ll second that. He’s the player I’m most excited to (hopefully) see in action this weekend. And a goal from Dempsey against Chelsea would be pretty sweet, too…
There’s a better chance Eddie Johnson will score a hat trick than Mike Grella even making the bench this weekend.
N00B
who’s Altidore and why does he matter?
Hopefully Guzan can get several saves
Have we gotten to the point yet where the Yanks Abroad list is longer than the Yanks Domestic list? If we aren’t there yet it seems like we are getting close.
9 months dought? jeez oh petes….
hopefully Freddy Adu gets a hat-trick
Hopefully Pachuca can get out of their mini-funk and Gomez and Torres find the net. Viva Tuzos!
Hopefully MB plays and dominates.
i hope the same thing for every US player every week of the season.
hope altidore gets playing time