USMNT weekend viewing guide: May matchups

Saturday

**Wrexham v Middlesbrough – 7:30a on Paramount+:** Heading into the final weekend of English Championship play Aiden Morris and Middlesbrough have clinched no worse than a promotion playoff position. Middlesbrough could straight qualify with a win and an Ipswich Town loss combined with a loss or draw by Millwall. Middlesbrough are facing a Wrexham side that currently sit in sixth place, the final playoff position, but are tied at seventy points with Hull City and having just a single point advantage in the goal differential column. **Villarreal v Levante – 8a on ESPN Select:** Alex Freeman received his first La Liga start last weekend and played 90’ as Villarreal defeated Celta Vigo 2-1. There are still five matches to play in Spain’s top flight and Villarreal have locked in a top four finish and Champions League qualification, though they are 20 points back of league leading Barcelona. They face a Levante side that are currently sitting in the second relegation spot but are only two points from safety. **Nantes v Olympique Marseille – 9a on beIN Sports:** Tim Weah and Marseille settled for a 1-1 draw with Nice last weekend and are in sixth place in the league table. Adding insult to injury, Weah picked up his fifth yellow card in the match and will be serving a one match suspension for accumulation on Saturday as his team face Nantes. Marseille have just one win in their last five matches, severely damaging their push for Champions League qualification. **Werder Bremen v Augsburg – 9:30a on ESPN Select:** Noahkai Banks was not included in the Augsburg squad last weekend after not appearing off the bench in three of the past four. Banks has just two appearances since the start of March after starting nearly every match for Augsburg through the first three quarters of the season. It is also interesting that the lack of playing time comes at a point in the season where Augsburg is essentially locked in as a middle of the table club. They face twelfth place Werder Bremen on Saturday. **Union Berlin v Koln – 9:30a on ESPN Select:** Kristoffer Lund and Koln fell to Leverkusen last weekend 2-1. Koln have had a number of draws recently, four of their past six, but have just one win in their last eleven matches. They are five points clear of the relegation playoff position with three matches to play and will be traveling to Berlin to take on thirteenth place Union who are currently one point ahead of them in the standings. **Hoffenheim v Stuttgart – 9:30a on ESPN Select:** Cole Campbell saw five minutes off the bench last weekend in Hoffenheim’s 2-1 win over Hamburg. Campbell has appeared three times over the last couple of months but mostly been an unused substitute. Hoffenheim are in fifth place and facing Stuttgart who also have 57 points but are in fourth thanks to goal differential advantage. **Eintracht Frankfurt v Hamburg – 9:30a on ESPN Select:** Damion Downs has come off the bench for spot minutes in the past two Hamburg matches and the club has already indicated that they will decline his option to buy from Southampton (who are qualified for the Championship promotion playoff). Hamburg are five points up on St. Pauli with three matches to play and can clinch safety with a win and a St. Pauli loss or draw against Mainz. **Valencia v Atletico Madrid – 10:15a on ESPN Deportes and EPSN Select:** Johnny Cardoso started and had a solid appearance on Wednesday as Atletico Madrid drew with Arsenal 1-1 in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. With a ten point lead over their closest competitor for the top four in league play it seems likely their will be some rotation this weekend as Atleti travel to twelfth place Valencia. **Arsenal v Fulham – 12:30p on NBC and Telemundo:** Antonne Robinson came off the bench again last weekend as Fulham defeated Aston Villa 1-0 with the loan goal coming from Fulham’s starting LB in the game, Ryan Sessegnon. It was the second straight match with Robinson coming off the bench after starting the previous four. Fulham will get the broadcast network treatment on Saturday afternoon as they face an Arsenal side that are tied with Man City for top of the table. **Bayer Leverkusen v RB Leipzig – 12:30p on ESPN Select:** Malik Tillman has been used as a substitute in four straight matches and six of the last eight for Leverkusen who defeated Koln last weekend but remain in sixth place, two points back of the top four. Leverkusen will host third place RB Leipzig who can clinch no worse than third place with a win and a loss or draw by Stuttgart or Hoffenheim this weekend. **Metz v Monaco – 1p on beIN Sports**: Folarin Balogun will look to start a new scoring streak on Saturday as Monaco take on last place Metz. Balogun had his eight match scoring streak snapped last weekend in Monaco’s 2-2 draw with Toulouse that leave them in seventh place with their European hopes quickly fading. **Ajax v PSV – 2p on ESPN Select:** Ricardo Pepi scored a pair in PSV’s last match and Sergino Dest has hinted at a return prior to the end of the Eredivise season as PSV coast to the league title. They will be facing their historic rival on Saturday but they currently hold a fourteen point lead over fourth place Ajax. **Sporting KC v Seattle Sounders – 2:30p on Fox:** Cristian Roldan and the Seattle Sounders will travel to Kansas City to take on Sporting KC on Saturday afternoon in the first of three MLS matches that will be airing across the Fox networks throughout the day. **Atalanta v Genoa – 2:45p on Paramount+:** Yunus Musah has not appeared in four straight matches for Atalanta who fell to sixteenth place Cagliari last weekend and remain in seventh place, now seven points back of the top six and an opportunity to qualify for European competition next season. They will host fourteenth place Genoa on Saturday. **Real Salt Lake v Portland Timbers – 4:45p on Fox:** Diego Luna, Zavier Gozo, and Real Salt Lake will host the Portland Timbers in the second of the MLS matches on Fox. Luna was looking like a Pochettino favorite while Gozo has been mentioned as a possible late callup.

Sunday

**Bournemouth v Crystal Palace – 9a on Peacock:** Tyler Adams and Chris Richards could face off in EPL action this weekend as their clubs face off in league play. Bournemouth are looking to crack the top six and Adams has been coming off the bench in the last three matches, picking up an assist against Brenden Aaronson and Leeds last weekend as the teams played to a draw. Meanwhile Palace are solidly middle of the table and coming off a Thursday UEFA Conference League semifinal matchup with Shakhtar Donetsk, which they won 3-1, so they may be looking to rotate the squad a bit this weekend. **Sassuolo v AC Milan – 9a on Paramount+:** Christian Pulisic started his third straight match as AC Milan played Juventus to a scoreless draw last weekend. Milan are in third place following the draw and will travel to tenth place Sassuolo. **Strasbourg v Toulouse – 11:15a on beIN Sports:** Mark McKenzie was back in the starting lineup after his red card suspension as Toulouse and Monaco played to a 2-2 draw last weekend. Toulouse are in the bottom half of the Ligue 1 table but are clear of the relegation battle. **Borussia Monchengladbach v Borussia Dortmund – 11:30a on ESPN Select:** Joe Scally went 90’ as Borussia Monchengladbach played Wolfsburg to a scoreless draw last weekend with Gio Reyna coming off the bench for the final 13’. Six points and a handful of teams separate Gladbach from relegation as they are currently in eleventh place with three matches to play. They will be facing Reyna’s old club Borussia Dortmund who look locked into a second place finish and defeated Freiburg 4-0 last weekend. Mathis Albert came in for the final minutes of the victory setting a new record for the youngest American to appear in the Bundesliga as he won’t turn 17 until later this month. **Juventus v Verona – Noon on Paramount+:** Weston McKennie and Juventus place Milan to a scoreless draw last weekend with McKennie going the distance. Juve are in fourth place with a three point lead over fifth place Como for Champions League qualification as they get set to host relegated Hellas Verona. **Olympique Lyon v Rennes – 2:45p on beIN Sports:** Tanner Tessmann was a first half substitute last weekend for Olympique Lyon who were up 1-0 at the time and would go on to win 3-2 to maintain their tie with Lille for third place, the final Champions League qualifying spot in Ligue 1. Lyon will host fifth place Rennes on Sunday, who are just a point back in the standings and have won four straight league matches.