By FRANCO PANIZO
Jermaine Jones has recovered from the ankle injury that sidelined him for the better part of a month, and now he will attempt to make his way back into Schalke’s starting lineup.
Coming off a substitute cameo for the club in last Saturday’s loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, Jones will try to attempt to regain his starting spot when Schalke try and knock off Hamburg SV in a home game on Sunday. Jones and Schalke currently hold the Bundesliga’s only UEFA Champions League qualifiers spot by a point, so they will likely need a win in order to keep their advantage over the four teams in hot pursuit.
Germany will also be the site of two of this weekend’s three duels between Americans Abroad. Relegation-threatened Fabian Johnson and Hoffenheim will attempt to pick up three points at home against Timmy Chandler and FC Nurnberg on Saturday, and a day later a 2. Bundesliga match-up between Joe Gyau’s St. Pauli and Alfredo Morales and John Anthony Brooks’ already-promoted Hertha Berlin is set to take place.
Alejandro Bedoya and Freddy Adu won’t be facing off against any fellow Americans, but they too have intriguing games worth following. Bedoya will look to continue his recent run of good form when Helsingborg IF get a visit from Gefle IF on Saturday. Adu, meanwhile, has made two recent late-game appearances for Bahia in the Baiano group stages – a five-minute debut last Sunday and eight-minute cameo on Wednesday – and will try and build on them when the club faces Vitoria on Sunday.
Here is who the Americans Abroad face off against this weekend:
FRIDAY
Zak Whitbread and Leicester City play Watford.
Carlos Bocanegra and Racing Santander play Barcelona B.
Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 play SpVgg Greuther Furth.
Andrew Wooten and SV Sandhausen play VfL Bochum.
Jozy Altidore and AZ Alkmaar play SC Heerenveen.
Tony Taylor and Estoril Praia play Braga.
Sebastian Lletget and West Ham United play Manchester City.
Tim Howard and Everton play Fulham.
Geoff Cameron, Brek Shea and Stoke City play Norwich City.
Clint Dempsey, Brad Friedel and Tottenham Hotspur play Wigan Athletic.
Conor Doyle and Derby County play Blackpool.
Tim Ream, Stuart Holden and Bolton Wanderers play Cardiff City.
Jonathan Spector, Will Packwood and Birmingham City play Ipswich Town. (Spector and Packwood are out injured.)
Frank Simek and Carlisle United play Colchester United.
Mike Grella and Scunthorpe United play Swindon Town
David Yelldell and Bayer Leverkusen play Werder Bremen.
Michael Parkhurst and FC Augsburg play VfB Stuttgart. (Parkhurst is out injured.)
Fabian Johnson, Danny Williams and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim play Timmy Chandler and FC Nurnberg. (Williams is out injured.)
Caleb Patterson-Sewell and Vitoria Setubal play FC Porto.
Eugene Starikov and FK Rostov play Lokomotiv Moscow.
Maurice Edu and Bursaspor play Akhisar Belediye.
Terrence Boyd and Rapid Vienna play SV Salzburg.
Conor O’Brien and FC Nordsjaelland play SonderjyskE.
Brian Span and Djurgarden IF play Syrianska FC.
Alejandro Bedoya and Helsingborg IF play Gefle IF.
Herculez Gomez, Benji Joya and Santos Laguna play Cruz Azul.
Ventura Alvarado and Club America play Pachuca.
Jose Torres, Jonathan Bornstein and Tigres UANL play Joaquin Alonso Hernandez and Monterrey.
Joe Corona, Edgar Castillo, Greg Garza and Club Tijuana play San Luis.
SUNDAY
Oguchi Onyewu and Malaga play Getafe.
Michael Bradley and AS Roma play Siena.
Jermaine Jones and Schalke 04 play Hamburg SV.
Bobby Wood and TSV 1860 Munich play FC Cologne.
Joe Gyau and St Pauli play Alfredo Morales, John Anthony Brooks and Hertha Berlin.
Sacha Kljestan and RSC Anderlecht play Club Brugge in the Pro League playoffs.
Charlie Davies and Randers FC play AC Horsens.
Clarence Goodson and Brondby IF play Odense BK.
Mix Diskerud and Rosenborg BK play Sandnes Ulf.
Steve Clark and Honefoss BK play Sarpsborg 08.
Josh Gatt and Molde FK play Stromsgodset.
DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Orozco Fiscal and Puebla play Atlas.
Freddy Adu and Bahia play Vitoria in the Baiano group stages.
MONDAY
Brad Guzan, Eric Lichaj and Aston Villa play Sunderland.
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Which of these games are you most looking forward to? Do you see Jones returning to Schalke’s starting XI? Think Hoffenheim can knock off Nurnberg en route to picking up three much-needed points?
Share your thoughts below.