By FRANCO PANIZO
Tim Howard is eyeing silverware this season, but he will have to bounce back from a lopsided loss earlier in the week in order to keep that dream alive.
Having suffered a 3-0 loss to rival Liverpool on Tuesday, Howard and Everton will try to rebound when they host Sunderland in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup on Saturday. The American international will likely be called upon versus Nicklas Bendtner and the rest of the Black Cats' attack, but he should be up for the challenge, especially if he wants to record a fourth cleansheet in his last six games.
Another American goalkeeper still competing in the FA Cup is Brad Friedel. The 40-year-old Friedel will be aiming to lead Tottenham Hotspur into the next round of the competition, but he will have to do so against Tim Ream and Bolton Wanderers. Tottenham is not in its best form right now, having won just once in its last five matches across all competitions.
Wondering what else is worth keeping an eye on? Look no further than the duel between DaMarcus Beasley and Michael Orozco Fiscal when Puebla takes on San Luis. Beasley will try to find the back of the net for the second week in a row, while Orozco Fiscal will try to start again after ending his inactive spell last Saturday.
Here is who the Americans Abroad play this weekend:
Fabian Johnson, Danny Williams, Joe Gyau and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim play VfB Stuttgart. (Gyau is with the U.S. Under-23 men's national team.)
Eugene Starikov and Zenit St Petersburg play Dinamo Moscow.
SATURDAY
Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann and Everton play Sunderland in the sixth round of the FA Cup.
Brad Friedel and Tottenham Hotspur play Stuart Holden, Tim Ream and Bolton Wanderers in the sixth round of the FA Cup. (Holden is out injured.)
Clint Dempsey and Fulham play Swansea City.
Jonathan Spector and Birmingham City play Middlesbrough.
Conor Doyle and Derby County play Doncaster Rovers.
Robbie Rogers and Leeds United play Daniel Potts and West Ham United.
Frank Simek and Carlisle United play AFC Bournemouth.
Mike Grella and Bury play Wycombe Wanderers.
Anton Peterlin and Walsall play Yeovil Town.
Maurice Edu, Alejandro Bedoya, Carlos Bocanegra and Rangers play Dundee United.
David Yelldell and Bayer Leverkusen play Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Terrence Boyd and Borussia Dortmund play Werder Bremen.
Timmy Chandler and FC Nurnberg play VfL Wolfsburg.
Alfredo Morales and Hertha Berlin play Bayern Munich.
Matt Taylor and SC Paderborn 07 play FC Ingolstadt 04.
Bobby Wood and TSV 1860 Munich play SpVgg Greuther Furth. (Wood is out injured.)
Quentin Westberg and Evian Thonon Gaillard play AJ Auxerre.
Herculez Gomez and Santos Laguna play Cruz Azul.
Jose Torres and Pachuca play Sonny Guadarrama and Atlante.
Jonathan Bornstein and Tigres UANL play Joe Corona, Edgar Castillo, Greg Garza and Club Tijuana. (Corona is with the U.S. Under-23 men's national team.)
Adrian Ruelas and Jaguares de Chiapas play Atlas.
SUNDAY
Zak Whitbread and Norwich City play Newcastle United.
Dominic Cervi and Celtic play Kilmarnock in the Scottish League Cup final.
Michael Bradley and Chievo Verona play Bologna.
Andrew Wooten and Kaiserslautern play Jermaine Jones and Schalke 04.
Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 play FC Cologne.
Luis Robles and Karlsruhe play Hansa Rostock.
Charlie Davies and Sochaux play Nice.
Jozy Altidore and AZ Alkmaar play NAC Breda.
Mix Diskerud and KAA Gent play KV Kortrijk. (Diskerud is with the U.S. Under-23 men's national team.)
Sacha Kljestan and RSC Anderlecht play St. Truiden.
Michael Parkhurst and FC Nordsjaelland play Clarence Goodson and Brondby IF.
Conor O'Brien and SonderjyskE play Silkeborg IF.
DaMarcus Beasley and Puebla play Michael Orozco Fiscal and San Luis.
MONDAY
Oguchi Onyewu and Sporting CP play Gil Vicente. (Onyewu is out injured.)
Brad Rusin and HB Koge play Chris Rolfe and Aalborg BK.
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Which matches are you most looking forward to? Think Howard and Everton will advance? Do you see Friedel and the Spurs knocking off Ream and Bolton? Think Beasley will score against Orozco Fiscal and San Luis?
Share your thoughts below.
Spector’s out for a few weeks with a thigh strain, I believe. They mentioned it on the Blues website.
Dempsey is not a striker.
Do I think he could come back and conribute to the USMNT. Yes. But with the emergence of Wooten, and Boyd I don’t forsee Davies being a major factor. Not only that Altidore and Gomez are both in good form.
Ah what. Pretty sure Dempsey has been scoring regularly and Altidore as well. Have you been in a closet the past few months or something.
(wiping away a tear) no.
*claps* Wonderful sir
so any updates on Davies? Does anyone realistically believe he can return to the National Team and be our Striker Savior
Charlie Davies and Sochaux play Nice.
Maybe they should be a little meaner, though.
Best league outside of Europe!? The Brazilians and Argentinians would dispute that statement; I would support them in that. Mexican teams hardly dominate when invited to play in their cup competitions.
I wouldn’t even place the Mexican League really above MLS; when they are in pre-season form, MLS teams win and, as seen this week, the converse is also true.
Gomez is 1 heck of a striker. scoring goals in of the best leagues in the world. arguably the best league outside of EUROPE
Gomez is 1 heck of a striker. scoring goals in of the best leagues in the world. arguably the best league outside of EUROPE
Dempsey has 12 league goals. 10 matches left. You guys think he can score 15 goals or more?
an American striker scoring regularly? This hasn’t happened since Davies was in Sweden or McBride at Fulham a few years back.
JK needs to call him up for WC qualifying.
Sapong, Bunbury, Agudelo, Boyd, Wooten are all quality guys with full potential but we need a Gomez/Buddle ready for qualifying.
wonder how many will Hercules Goalmez score this week