The Bundesliga joins the fray this weekend so there is a full slate and it starts with a bang on Friday with two good matches for USMNT eager fans, and the potential for a sighting in Spain as well. The restart of the Bundesliga also brings a major change to viewing habits, with those matches shifting from the ESPN platform to a combination of Peacock (for Spanish language broadcasts) and Fandango which is apparently being offered in English for free in many cases. No longer behind the ESPN paywall
the Bundesliga matches should be more accessible but perhaps a little harder to find, this is going to take some getting used to. Regardless, it’s a very full weekend of action and here’s what we’re watching:
Friday
AC Milan v Venezia — 2:45p on Paramount+: Start off the weekend with some American on American action in Italy on Friday afternoon as a pair of American’s in Milan host Venezia and Gianluca Bussio. Christian Pulisic did not make it off the bench last weekend as he continues to recover from his injury sustained during the World Cup but Yunus Musah started and went 90’ as he is apparently rebounding quickly at Milan after a rough 2025-26 season for the young midfielder. AC Milan opened their season with a 2-1 win over Torino and will now face Venezia and Busio who fell 2-0 to Lecce in their return to Serie A. Busio played the full 90 and captained the Venezia squad.
Crystal Palace v Manchester City — 3p on USA Network: Chris Richards went 90’ last Saturday as Crystal Palace fell to Everton 2-0. Zavier Gozo was not included in the squad and instead played with the Palace U21’s as he acclimates to the new club. Their opponent, Manchester City, opened with a 2-1 win over Bournemouth.
Alaves v Villarreal — 3:30p on ESPN+: Alex Freeman has had a meteoric rise with the USMNT but is still looking to make his breakthrough at Villarreal. The young right-back was an unused substitute for Villarreal last weekend as they drew with Atletico Madrid 2-2, after seeing just two minutes in the teams opening draw with Racing.
Saturday
Middlesbrough v West Brom — 7:30a on Paramount+: The Boro boys keep growing as Rokas Pukstas has joined Aidan Morris, Max Arfsten, and Sebastian Berhalter in the Championship. The group fell 2-1 to Blackburn last weekend with Morris, Berhalter, and Arfsten all starting though they did bounce back midweek in EFL Cup action with a 3-1 win over third tier side Doncaster.
RB Leipzig v Borussia Mönchengladbach — 9:30a on Peacock and Fandango: Joe Scally is apparently on the outs at Borussia Monchengladbach as he’s been instructed by the club to find a new home. Given the current state it seems pretty unlikely that Scally will see the field for Gladbach on Saturday, the end of an era.
Elversberg v Bayer Leverkusen — 9:30a on Peacock and Fandango: Malik Tillman and Bayer Leverkusen will start their Bundesliga campaign against newly promoted Elversberg on Saturday morning. Tillman did play 90’ last weekend in Leverkusen’s 4-0 win over Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of dfb Pokal action. Cole Campbell transferred to Elversberg over the summer and played 90’ in the team’s Pokal win over MSV Duisburg last weekend.
Bournemouth v Everton — 10:00a on Peacock: There have been some rumors quietly swirling around a possible Tyler Adams move ahead of the transfer window closing on Tuesday and he came off the bench to play 15’ in Bournemouth’s 2-1 loss to Man City. Bournemouth had take a first half lead and both goals came after Adams had taken the field which isn’t a great look. The team will look to rebound on Saturday when they face an Everton side that started their season with a win.
Celtic v Falkirk — 10:00a on Paramount+: Auston Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers were unfortunately both part of Celtic’s awful collapse against George Bello and LASK in Champions League qualifying midweek. Celtic had scored twenty minutes in to go up 4-0 on aggregate in the home-and-away fixture but proceeded to give up five unanswered goals and crash out of the competition. They will look to rebound this weekend in Scottish league play as they host Falkirk.
Strasbourg v Lens — 11:15a on beIN SPORTS: Gio Reyna saw 21’ off the bench in his first competitive match with Strasbourg, a 4-0 loss to Tim Weah captained Marseille. Strasbourg was already down 2-0 when Reyna was introduced but he was unable to turn the tide. The team will have their home opener this weekend as they host as Lens side that opened with a 5-2 win over Auxerre.
Brest v Toulouse — 2:45p on beIN SPORTS: Mark McKenzie will remain with Toulouse until the January transfer window and was in the starting lineup and playing 90’ last weekend against Lyon. Toulouse will travel to Brest this weekend.
Lyon v Le Havre — 2:45p on beIN SPORTS: Tanner Tessmann may be on the move from Lyon as there have been some rumors of the team cashing in amidst financial struggles that were exacerbated when the team failed to qualify for Champions League, falling 2-1 at home to Fenerbahce. Tessmann started the match and was subbed out midway through the second half with his team looking for an equalizer. Tessmann only played 10’ in last weekend’s win over Toulouse as the team rotated heavily to prepare for the midweek match with Fenerbahce.
Juventus v Parma — 2:45p on Paramount+: Weston McKennie started and went 90’ in Juve’s 1-0 win over Frosinone but has been ruled out this weekend with fatigue and won’t be on the field for his teams home opener.
Sevilla v Atlético Madrid — 3:30p on ESPN+: Johnny Cardoso has been on the bench for Atletico Madrid’s first two matches of the season, a 2-0 win over Malaga and a 2-2 draw with Villarreal. Atleti hit the road for the first time this season, travelling to take on a Sevilla side that have won their first two matches of the season.
Seattle Sounders v Chicago Fire — 4:30p on Apple TV: Cristian Roldan, Chris Brady
New York Red Bulls v Philadelphia Union — 7:30p on Apple TV: Julian Hall, Adri Mehmeti, Ethan Horvath, Quinn and Cavan Sullivan
Toronto FC v NYCFC — 7:30p on Apple TV: Matt Freese
Charlotte FC v Atlanta United — 7:30p on Apple TV: Tim Ream
Nashville SC v FC Cincinnati — 8:30p on Apple TV: Roman Celentano
Colorado Rapids v Real Salt Lake — 9:30p on Apple TV: Diego Luna
MLS Season Pass Matches:
- Seattle Sounders v Chicago Fire — 4:30p on Apple TV: Cristian Roldan, Chris Brady
- New York Red Bulls v Philadelphia Union — 7:30p on Apple TV: Julian Hall, Adri Mehmeti, and Ethan Horvath for NYRB, Quinn and Cavan Sullivan for Philadelphia.
- Toronto FC v NYCFC — 7:30p on Apple TV: Matt Freese
- Charlotte FC v Atlanta United — 7:30p on Apple TV: Tim Ream
- Nashville SC v FC Cincinnati — 8:30p on Apple TV: Roman Celentano and Miles Robinson
- Colorado Rapids v Real Salt Lake — 9:30p on Apple TV: Diego Luna
Sunday
PSV v Utrecht — 6:15a on ESPN+: Ricardo Pepi and Sergiño Dest both scored last weekend in PSV’s 5-1 win over FC Groningen. This weekend they will host Utrecht where Kevin Paredes is apparently yet again dealing with significant injury concerns after coming off with a leg injury against Sparta Rotterdam last weekend.
Leeds United v Brentford — 9:00a on USA Network/Telemundo: Brenden Aaronson saw 23’ off the bench in Leeds 2-0 EFL Cup win over Nottingham Forest midweek and started against the same Forest team last weekend as Leeds opened their EPL season with a 1-0 win.
Sunderland v Fulham — 9:00a on Peacock: Antonee Robinson started Fulham’s EPL opener on Monday, a 3-2 home loss to Chelsea but was not included in the midweek squad as the team defeated AFC Wimbledon 3-0 in EFL Cup action. The team will travel to newly promoted Sunderland on Sunday.
Rennes v Le Mans — 11:15a on beIN SPORTS: Bryan Reynolds moved from Westerlo to Stade Rennais this summer and Reynolds saw 2’ off the bench in the teams opening match, a 2-2 draw with PSG. Rennes will now host newly promoted Le Mans who opened their season with 2-2 draw with Brest.
Augsburg v Schalke — 11:30a on Fandango: Noahkai Banks started and went 90’ in Augsburg’s 2-0 Pokal win over Energie Cottbus. Banks saw over 1,700 minutes in the Bundesliga last season as a 19-year-old centerback but appeared just once in the teams last eight matches. The team will open their Bundesliga season by hosting Schalke who have spent the last three seasons in 2 Bundesliga.
Monaco v Marseille — 2:45p on beIN SPORTS: Folarin Balogun is also a name to watch in the transfer rumors and he has not appeared in any of Monaco’s first three matches (across all competitions) to start the season. Unfortunately, that will probably deprive USMTN fans of another opportunity to watch American’s face off head-to-head as Monaco are hosting Tim Weah and Marseille on Sunday afternoon.
MLS Season Pass Matches:
- Columbus Crew v New England Revolution — 4:30p on Apple TV: Patrick Schulte v Matt Turner
