Leeds United faces its toughest test yet in the early stages of the new English Premier League season and Jesse Marsch will hope for another strong afternoon from his U.S. men’s national team duo.
Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams will square off with Chelsea on Sunday at Elland Road as the Lilywhites aim for a second home victory of the new campaign. Both Aaronson and Adams have started in Leeds United’s opening two matches this season, jumping right into the plan in Marsch’s system. Aaronson has worked in his natural attacking midfielder role for Leeds United, teaming up with Rodrigo and Jack Harrison so far this season. Adams has partnered fellow summer acquisition Marc Roca in midfield, totaling 90 minutes in his first two starts for Leeds United. Leeds United has shown plenty of positives in the first two weeks of the season and will be confident as it aims to hand Chelsea its first head-to-head defeat since 2002.
Elsewhere in England, Chris Richards will be pushing to start for Crystal Palace against Aston Villa. Josh Sargent and Norwich City host Millwall in EFL Championship play while Zack Steffen and Middlesbrough face Reading.
In Spain, Luca De La Torre and Celta Vigo host defending La Liga and UCL winners Real Madrid. Sergino Dest and Barcelona face off with Real Sociedad.
In Italy, Weston McKennie and Juventus visit Sampdoria on Monday.
In Germany, Joe Scally and Borussia Moenchengladbach host Hertha Berlin on Friday. Jordan Pefok and Union Berlin face a stern test against RB Leipzig.
Elsewhere, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Celtic host Hearts in SPFL action. Mark McKenzie aims for a second-consecutive start in the Genk backline in Belgium while Reggie Cannon and Boavista take on Casa Pia in Portugal.
Here is a closer look at this weekend’s Americans Abroad:
England
Premier League
Christian Pulisic and Chelsea visit Tyler Adams, Brenden Aaronson and Leeds United on Sunday.
Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream and Fulham host Brentford on Saturday.
Chris Richards and Crystal Palace host Aston Villa on Saturday.
Matt Turner and Arsenal visit Bournemouth on Saturday.
Championship
Josh Sargent, Jonathan Tomkinson and Norwich City host Millwall on Friday.
Zack Steffen, Matthew Hoppe and Middlesbrough visit Reading on Saturday.
Ethan Horvath and Luton Town visit Swansea City on Saturday.
Matt Olosunde and Preston North End host Watford on Saturday.
Duane Holmes and Huddersfield Town visit Coventry City on Saturday.
Auston Trusty and Birmingham City host Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
Lynden Gooch and Sunderland visit Stoke City on Saturday.
Daryl Dike is OUT (Injury) for West Bromwich Albion.
Germany
Bundesliga
Gio Reyna and Borussia Dortmund host Werder Bremen on Saturday.,
Joe Scally and Borussia Moenchengladbach host Hertha Berlin on Friday.
Ricardo Pepi and Augsburg host Mainz on Saturday.
Kevin Paredes and Wolfsburg host Schalke on Saturday.
Jordan Pefok and Union Berlin host RB Leipzig on Saturday.
Pellegrino Matarazzo‘s Stuttgart host Freiburg on Saturday.
Timmy Chandler and Eintracht Frankfurt host Cologne on Sunday.
2. Bundesliga
Julian Green, Timothy Tillman and Greuther Furth host Terrence Boyd and Kaiserslautern on Sunday.
George Bello and Arminia Bielefeld visit FC Heidenheim on Sunday.
Nico Carrera and Holstein Kiel visit Paderborn on Saturday.
Bryang Kayo and Nuremberg visit Sandhausen on Saturday.
3. Liga
Johan Gomez and FSV Zwickau host SpVgg Bayreuth on Monday.
Spain
La Liga
Sergino Dest and Barcelona visit Jonathan Gomez and Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Luca De La Torre and Celta Vigo host Real Madrid on Saturday.
Yunus Musah and Valencia visit Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Segunda Liga
Samuel Shashoua and Tenerife host Lugo on Sunday.
Italy
Serie A
Weston McKennie and Juventus visit Sampdoria on Monday.
Serie B
Gianluca Busio, Tanner Tessmann, Andrija Novakovich, Jack DeVries and Venezia visit Sudtirol on Sunday.
Anthony Fontana and Ascoli host Spal on Saturday.
France
Ligue 1
Erik Palmer-Brown and Troyes visit Lyon on Friday.
Folarin Balogun and Stade Reims visit Strasbourg on Sunday.
Tim Weah is OUT (Injury) for Lille.
Netherlands
Eredivisie
Cole Bassett and Fortuna Sittard host Cambuur on Saturday.
Richie Ledezma is OUT (Injury) for PSV.
Portugal
Liga Portugal
Reggie Cannon and Boavista visit Casa Pia on Sunday.
Alex Mendez and Vizela visit Chaves on Saturday.
Scotland
Premiership
Cameron Carter-Vickers and Celtic host Hearts on Sunday.
Christian Ramirez, Dante Polvara and Aberdeen visit St. Johnstone on Saturday.
Malik Tillman, James Sands and Rangers visit Hibernian on Saturday.
Ian Harkes and Dundee United host St. Mirren on Saturday.
Joe Efford and Motherwell host Livingston on Saturday.
Belgium
Pro League
Mark McKenzie and Genk host Cercle Brugge on Saturday.
Owen Otasowie and Club Brugge host Kortrijk on Sunday.
Bryan Reynolds, Griffin Yow and Westerlo visit Mechelen on Sunday.
Sam Vines and Royal Antwerp are OFF this weekend.
Greece
Super League
Konrad de la Fuente and Olympiakos host PAS Giannina on Sunday.
Turkey
Super Lig
Haji Wright and Antalyaspor host Trabzonspor on Saturday.
Tyler Boyd and Besiktas host Fatih Karagumruk on Sunday.
Denmark
Superliagen
Christian Cappis and Brondby visit Aalborg on Sunday.
Emmanuel Sabbi and Odense host Horsens on Monday.
Austria
2. Liga
Ulysses Llanez and SKN St. Poelten host Kapfenberger SV on Friday.
Hungary
NB 1
Henry Wingo and Ferencvaros are OFF this weekend.
Norway
Eliteserien
Sam Rogers and Rosenborg host Aalesund on Sunday.
Kobe Hernandez-Foster and HamKam visit Bodo/Glimt on Saturday.
Sweden
Allsvenskan
Jeffrey Gal, Joe Gyau and Degerfors visit Hammarby on Monday.
Forrest Lasso, Joe Corona and Sundsvall host Helsingborg on Sunday.
Romain Gall is OUT (Injury) for Malmo.
Argentina
Primeira Liga
Alan Sonora and Independiente visit Godoy Cruz on Sunday.
Joel Sonora and Velez Sarsfield host Sarmiento on Monday.
Brazil
Serie A
Johnny Cardoso and Internacional visit Avai FC on Monday.
Pefok with a goal and assist. Was subbed at 64 minute mark. Couldn’t tell if it was injury related.
Reyna got in for about 30 minutes for Dortmund today. Good to see but the result was…not great. Dortmund was up 2-0 but playing like crap, Reyna was almost completely invisible and struggled to apply pressure or find the game much from his right wing spot – the dude has never been high-energy defensively and despite only being on the field a few minutes he occasionally seemed indifferent about getting himself up the field to help the attack – and he mislaid several passes.
Then again, Dortmund in general was mislaying passes left and right. And they duly got punished for it, bigly, giving up three goals in the last two minutes of the game and losing 3-2 to Bremen. Yeah, you heard that right.
Still not sure if Reyna’s a C-mid or a winger in our system and the only thing he convinced me of today is that he’s certainly not terribly match-fit, sharp, or switched on at the moment, and he seriously needs to dial his defensive work rate up if he wants to start for the Nats and be more than a spot player. No doubt he’s got a world of talent and his ability on the ball is as good as it gets but the laziness he often shows sometimes drives me nuts.
“he’s certainly not terribly match-fit, sharp, or switched on at the moment,”
If that’s true then why did you expect some great performance from him in his first game in a year or whatever?
“he seriously needs to dial his defensive work rate up if he wants to start for the Nats and be more than a spot player.”
As best as I can tell he’s being groomed to be the next Marco Reus.
I don’t remember Marco as a great defender. If Berhalter can’t find more than a spot player role for a player like then then so be it.
Scally another start at RB and another solid game today. He is definitely pushing for a spot to Qatar.