By FRANCO PANIZO
Michael Bradley was one of the key figures in the U.S. men's national team's upset win over Italy on Wednesday in part because of his ability to contain Andrea Pirlo.
His club, Chievo Verona, will be hoping Bradley can replicate that type of outing this weekend.
Bradley and Chievo take to the road to face second-place Juventus in one of the marquee matches involving an American Abroad on Saturday, and that means Bradley will once again square off with Pirlo. If Bradley can do as good a job on the Italian midfielder as he did when he played for the United States two days ago, Chievo will have improved odds at getting a result or perhaps even an upset win.
One American who is not a fixture in his team's lineup but still draws interest from fans every weekend is George John. FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman told SBI that something would be decided for John in the next day or two, so some insight on his future with the Hammers might be provided based upon his role for the match against Cardiff City.
Fellow centerback MIchael Parkhurst will be in action, as the Danish Superliga resumes play after its lengthy winter break. The American defender should be one of FC Nordsjaelland's starters in a match against AGF Aarhus that could bring Nordsjaelland to within one point of the top of the table.
Here is who the Americans Abroad play this weekend:
Joe Corona, Edgar Castillo, Greg Garza and Club Tijuana play Estudiantes Tecos U.A. de G.
SATURDAY
Adam Henley and Blackburn Rovers play Brad Guzan, Eric Lichaj and Aston Villa.
Stuart Holden, Tim Ream and Bolton Wanderers play Manchester City. (Holden is out injured.)
Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann and Everton play Queens Park Rangers.
Zak Whitbread and Norwich City play Stoke City.
Robbie Findley and Nottingham Forest play Barnsley.
Jonathan Spector and Birmingham City play Conor Doyle and Derby County.
Robbie Rogers and Leeds United play Southampton. (Rogers is out injured.)
Mike Grella and Bury play Huddersfield Town.
Anton Peterlin and Walsall play Leyton Orient.
Frank Simek and Carlisle United play Notts County.
Dominic Cervi and Celtic play Aberdeen.
Maurice Edu, Alejandro Bedoya, Carlos Bocanegra and Rangers play Heart of Midlothian.
Michael Bradley and Chievo Verona play Juventus.
David Yelldell and Bayer Leverkusen play Bayern Munich.
Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 play FC Augsburg.
Alfredo Morales and Hertha Berlin play Werder Bremen.
Jermaine Jones and Schalke 04 play SC Freiburg. (Jones is out injured.)
Terrence Boyd and Borussia Dortmund play Mainz.
Matt Taylor and SC Paderborn 07 play Alemannia Aachen.
Luis Robles and Karlsruhe play Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Charlie Davies and Sochaux play Valenciennes.
Quentin Westberg and Evian Thonon Gaillard play St Etienne.
Jozy Altidore and AZ Alkmaar play SC Heracles Almelo.
Oguchi Onyewu and Sporting CP play Vitoria Setubal. (Onyewu is out injured.)
Eugene Starikov and Zenit St Petersburg play CSKA Moscow.
Mix Diskerud and KAA Gent play KV Mechelen.
Michael Parkhurst and FC Nordsjaelland play AGF Aarhus.
Herculez Gomez and Santos Laguna play Michael Orozco Fiscal and San Luis.
Jonathan Bornstein and Tigres UANL play Sonny Guadarrama and Atlante.
Jose Torres and Pachuca play Atlas. (Torres is out injured.)
SUNDAY
Clint Dempsey and Fulham play Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Brad Friedel and Tottenham Hotspur play Manchester United.
Daniel Potts, George John and West Ham United play Cardiff City.
Timmy Chandler and FC Nurnberg play Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Fabian Johnson, Danny Williams, Joe Gyau and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim play FC Cologne.
Sacha Kljestan and RSC Anderlecht play Cercle Brugge KSV.
Brad Rusin and HB Koge play AC Horsens.
Clarence Goodson and Brondby IF play Conor O'Brien and SonderjyskE.
Chris Rolfe and Aalborg BK play FC Copenhagen.
Adrian Ruelas and Jaguares de Chiapas play America.
DaMarcus Beasley and Puebla play Chivas de Guadalajara.
MONDAY
Bobby Wood and TSV 1860 Munich play St Pauli. (Wood is out injured.)
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Which matches are you most looking forward to? Think Bradley can help limit Pirlo from making an impact once again? Do you see John staying with West Ham or is a return to Dallas more likely? Expecting Parkhurst and Nordsjaelland to finish this season in first?
Share your thoughts below.