By FRANCO PANIZO
There are several Americans Abroad matchups on tap this weekend, but none might be more interesting than than the royal rumble that could take place on Friday night in Mexico.
Puebla will make a visit to Estadio Caliente to take on Club Tijuana in a match that could feature up to as many as nine Americans. It is doubtful that all of them see the field, but DaMarcus Beasley and Michael Orozco are good bets to be penciled into Puebla’s starting lineup as the club attempts to end a three-game winless skid across all competitions.
Another potentially intriguing duel could come in the Birmingham City-Reading match on Saturday. Jonathan Spector and Will Packwood seem like surefire bets to start for Birmingham after weeks of continuously getting the nod. They could go up against midfielder Danny Williams if he is deemed healthy enough to return from a recent knee injury.
Wondering what else might be worth watching? Look no further than Brad Guzan and Aston Villa’s duel with Geoff Cameron and Stoke City. Another game that will draw plenty of eyeballs will be Jozy Altidore and relegation-threatened Sunderland’s Saturday showdown with Norwich City.
Here is who the Americans Abroad battle this weekend:
FRIDAY
Babajide Ogunbiyi and Viborg FF play FC Vestsjaelland.
Herculez Gomez, Joe Corona, Edgar Castillo, Greg Garza, Paul Arriola, Alejandro Guido, Fernando Arce Jr and Club Tijuana play DaMarcus Beasley, Michael Orozco and Puebla.
SATURDAY
Tim Howard and Everton play Swansea City.
Jozy Altidore and Sunderland play Norwich City.
Sebastian Lletget and West Ham United play Manchester United.
Zak Whitbread and Derby County play Eric Lichaj and Nottingham Forest. (Lichaj is out injured.)
Duane Holmes and Huddersfield Town play Blackpool.
Jonathan Spector, Will Packwood and Birmingham City play Danny Williams and Reading.
Oguchi Onyewu and Sheffield Wednesday play Doncaster Rovers.
Gboly Ariyibi and Leeds United play Millwall.
Tim Ream, Stuart Holden and Bolton Wanderers play Yeovil Town. (Holden is out injured.)
John Brooks and Hertha Berlin play Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Andrew Wooten and FSV Frankfurt play Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Alfredo Morales and FC Ingolstadt 04 play St Pauli.
Alejandro Bedoya and FC Nantes play Montpellier.
Terrence Boyd and Rapid Vienna play Wolfsberger AC.
Gabriel Farfan and Jaguares de Chiapas play Pachuca.
Jose Torres and Tigres UANL play Queretaro.
SUNDAY
Brad Friedel and Tottenham Hotspur play Cody Cropper and Southampton.
Brad Guzan and Aston Villa play Geoff Cameron, Brek Shea and Stoke City.
Timmy Chandler and FC Nurnberg play Eintracht Frankfurt. (Chandler is out injured.)
David Yelldell and Bayer Leverkusen play Fabian Johnson and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
Bobby Wood and TSV 1860 Munich play Kaiserslautern.
Aron Johannsson and AZ Alkmaar play PEC Zwolle.
Jermaine Jones and Besiktas play Akhisar Belediye.
Conor O’Brien and Odense BK play Brondby.
Alonso Hernandez and Monterrey play Pumas UNAM.
Jonathan Bornstein and Atlante play Toluca.
—–
Which of these matches are you most anticipating? How many Americans do you think we will see in the Tijuana-Puebla match? See Altidore and Sunderland picking up a win vs. Norwich City?
Share your thoughts below.