By FRANCO PANIZO
From a pair of high-profile matches to three potential debuts, this weekend has plenty of intriguing matches involving the Americans Abroad contingent.
The arguably two biggest games will take place on Sunday, as Clint Dempsey and Tottenham battle Manchester United while Michael Bradley and AS Roma face Inter Milan. Dempsey scored the winner (and his first goal) for Spurs the last time he played against the Red Devils, so he will be looking for a repeat performance at White Hart Lane. Bradley, meanwhile, will be aiming to help Roma snap a two-game losing streak in league play just three days before the club takes on Inter again in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semifinals series.
For Maurice Edu, Michael Parkhurst and Jose Torres, this weekend could potentially mark the starts of the latest chapters in their respective careers. Edu, who just signed a six-month loan deal with Bursaspor, will try and make his debut for the club when they square off with Kayserispor on Saturday; Parkhurst will attempt to do the same for FC Augsburg against Fortuna Dusseldorf on Sunday, as the German Bundesliga returns from its winter break; and Jose Torres will attempt to fight off a recent injury to make his first appearance for Tigres UANL in their clash with Atlas on Saturday
Here is who the Americans Abroad face this weekend:
FRIDAY
Zak Whitbread and Leicester City play Middlesbrough. (Whitbread is out injured.)
Jermaine Jones and Schalke 04 play Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96. (Jones is suspended and Cherundolo is out injured).
SATURDAY
Geoff Cameron and Stoke City play Swansea City.
Sebastian Lletget and West Ham United play Queens Park Rangers.
Brad Guzan, Eric Lichaj and Aston Villa play West Bromwich Albion.
Conor Doyle and Derby County play Nottingham Forest.
Jonathan Spector, Will Packwood and Birmingham City play Brighton & Hove Albion. (Packwood is out injured.)
Tim Ream, Stuart Holden and Bolton Wanderers play Crystal Palace.
Frank Simek and Carlisle United play Crawley Town.
Mike Grella and Scunthorpe United play Portsmouth.
Oguchi Onyewu and Malaga play Celta Vigo.
Carlos Bocanegra and Racing Santander play Las Palmas.
David Yelldell and Bayer Leverkusen play Eintracht Frankfurt.
Fabian Johnson, Danny Williams and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim play Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Jozy Altidore and AZ Alkmaar play Vitesse Arnhem.
Maurice Edu and Bursaspor play Kayserispor.
Sacha Kljestan and RSC Anderlecht play Zulte-Waregem.
Ventura Alvarado and Club America play Atlante.
Jose Torres, Jonathan Bornstein and Tigres UANL play Atlas.
SUNDAY
Clint Dempsey, Brad Friedel and Tottenham Hotspur play Manchester United.
Michael Bradley and AS Roma play Inter Milan.
Timmy Chandler and FC Nurnberg play Hamburg SV.
Michael Parkhurst and FC Augsburg play Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Tony Taylor and Estoril Praia play Gil Vicente.
Caleb Patterson-Sewell and Vitoria Setubal play Braga.
DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Orozco Fiscal and Puebla play Herculez Gomez, Hector Joya and Santos Laguna.
Joe Corona, Edgar Castillo, Greg Garza and Club Tijuana play Pumas UNAM.
MONDAY
Tim Howard and Everton play Southampton.
—–
Which of these games are you most looking forward to? Do you see Dempsey and Spurs beating Manchester United again? How will Roma and Bradley fare vs. Inter? Who is more likely to make his debut, Edu, Torres or Parkhurst?
Share your thoughts below.
Would be cool to see him, Cameron, and Edu all playing for Stoke if its true.
Apparently Brek Shea to Stoke is a done deal
Not done until he passes a physical and gets a work permit!
Is the Roma-Inter match on TV? I’m not sure I have a lot of hope for Roma, they will miss Totti and the just 120 minutes in an exhausting game. Also, their victory over Inter at the SanSiro back in Sept. gives Inter the revenge motive and since Totti was the star of that match it does not bode well for Roma. They will be back at each other mid week, it will be interesting to see what adjustments the coaches make before Wednesday’s match. .
Ives have heard anything about DC allegedly turning down an 8 million dollar transfer offer for Andy Najar? I know it’s not an American player but it would help a club of MLS that has some great potential Americans…who might be abroad one day lol
Has Daniel Potts committed to England or is he still eligible to pick which national team he wants to play with? Saw him starting at left back for West Ham and couldn’t help but think what could be seeing how England is set at the position for a while with Cole and Baines.
Actually I have no idea what happened? His father Steve Potts was born in Hartford, Connecticut but according to this article back in April by Ives something about his father not having spent enough time living in the US was a reason Daniel was NOT eligible for the US as well….
http://www.soccerbyives.net/2012/04/report-potts-not-eligible-for-usa.html
that explains it…thanks for the heads up!
Did anyone hear. Goodson moved to a Turkish club
So great to see Holden’s name listed without the (Holden is out injured) next to it
Whitbread the best national team CB to never play because of injuries.
i’ll drink to that
Will Stuart Holden get some action this weekend…
What’s with the personal questions – I keed, I keed! 🙂
I’d think there’s a good chance of seeing another 15-20 min sub appearance. That said, I’m just looking forward to seeing him score a goal on Tim Howard next weekend 🙂
Sure hope Jozy is well rested and ready to start scoring again
Goodson also moved to a club in the Turkish league
Must be tough on him. I saw a House-Hunters show with him and his wife (or girlfriend) buying a home near his then new club about 2 years ago. I wonder if he’ll get a do-over in Turkey.
Tim Ream, Stuart Holden and Bolton Wanderers play Crystal Palace. Still getting used to not seeing (Holden is out injured).
Sorry, Deuce, you know I love you and all but you are standing in the way of our GLORY. Nothing but love though.
Where is Brek Shea transferring to?
OK Steve, you got me on this one – how does Shea play into this?
I just heard from a friend who lives in Dallas that told me there are rumors going around FCD that Shea might go play in the EPL…. I think Steve might of accidentally replied to you when he meant to just add in a comment
…and this how internet rumors begin.
lol I should have said that it makes little sense seeing how Shea hardly played with the US last year and he was injured…why would someone in the EPL of all places be interested in him now? reason why him not playing with the nats is important is mainly because he wouldn’t even get the permit for the UK to play
It makes as much sense as Agudelo going abroad. European teams buy based on potential and talent. You also got to remember Brek played on a broken toe for most of the year. Work permits shouldnt be that much of a problem if Rogers and Ream were able to get one.
I dont know about this rumor but Taylor Twellman tweeted that an EPL bid 3 million pounds for him so we will see
https://twitter.com/TaylorTwellman/status/292369500270104576
(see below)
Wrong, wrong, wrong. A Deuce/Bale pairing is the only chance for Spurs glory. And AVB knows this.
With Sandro out injured and Adebayor gone to Cup of Nations…I smell a Deuce in the starting lineup!
It’s good to have most of the leagues back.