The March roster has been named and, aside from a few injury absences, seems likely to be the preferred roster moving into this summer’s World Cup. The weekend viewing guide will be heavily slanted towards those players over the next several months, starting with this weekend when players take the field for their clubs once more before the international window.
Friday
AFC Bournemouth v Manchester United – 4p on USA Network: Tyler Adams is one of the players missing the March camp due to injury though he also
seems the most likely of that group to be a roster lock if he’s healthy this summer. We’ll continue to keep an eye on him but that will have to wait this weekend as he remains out for Bournemouth as they host Manchester United.
Villarreal v Real Sociedad – 4p on ESPN Deportes and ESPN Select: Alex Freeman has not seen much time since joining Villarreal, his seven minutes last weekend came in his fourth appearance in eight matches since joining the club and he’s up to just 38 minutes in total for the Spanish side. However, he was called into the March roster and seems likely to make the final roster even if Sergino Dest is able to return before the summer. Villarreal drew with Deportivo Alaves last weekend and remain in fourth place. They are hosting seventh place Real Sociedad and Pellegrino Matarazzo this weekend. Sociedad, who were in 15th place when Matarazzo took over, are now just three points back of Celta Vigo for a chance to qualify for European competition next season.
Saturday
Parma v Cremonese – 10a on Paramount+: Just as he was looking like he was making a breakthrough with Parma Benja Cremaschi suffered a season ending injury. Cremaschi was on the outside looking in, in terms of the 2026 World Cup roster but this is a blow to his young career regardless.
Koln v Borussia Monchengladbach – 10:30a on ESPN Select: Kristoffer Lund will take on Joe Scally and Gio Reyna on Saturday morning. Both Scally and Reyna were called into the March camp and interestingly it seems that Reyna’s position with the USMNT might be more secure than Scally’s at this point though Scally is seeing much more playing time with their club. Gladbach defeated St. Pauli 2-0 last weekend with Reyna once again watching from the bench while Scally notched a nice assist for Gladbach’s second goal.
Heidenheim v Bayer Leverkusen – 10:30a on ESPN Select: Malik Tillman started and played the full 90’ last weekend as Bayer Leverkusen played 10-man Bayern Munich to a 1-1 draw. Tillman then came on as a second half substitute as Leverkusen fell to Arsenal 2-0 in Champions League play and were eliminated from the competition.
Fulham v Burnley – 11a on USA Network: Antonee Robinson has started the past two league matches for Fulham, though he was on the bench two weeks ago when his team fell to Southampton in the FA Cup. Robinson has struggled more with injury this year than in the past and has also found the assists harder to come by, notching just one goal contribution across all competitions and still looking for his first in EPL play, a season after racking up 10 assists while missing just two matches the entire season.
Toulouse v Lorient – Noon on beIN Sports: Mark McKenzie and Toulouse snapped a six match winless streak by defeating Metz 4-3 last weekend. It was an unusually shaky defensive performance from the side against Ligue 1’s bottom dwellers, they had given up more than one goal in just one of their prior eight league matches.
Toronto FC v Columbus Crew – 1p on MLS Season Pass: Max Arfsten and the Columbus Crew will visit Toronto on Saturday afternoon. Arfsten seems like the most likely Jedi replacement so it is likely he will make the World Cup roster as well.
AC Milan v Torino – 1p on Paramount+: Christian Pulisic and AC Milan fell to Lazio 1-0 last weekend, giving back points in the Serie A race just a week after defeating league leading Inter. Pulisic has yet to score this year and will look to get back on track heading into the international break as Milan host 14th place Torino have have given up the second most goals in Serie A this season.
Swansea City v Coventry City – 1:15p on Paramount+: Haji Wright and Coventry City fell to Southampton 2-1 last weekend with Wright also snapping his three match scoring streak. Adding to the off week for Wright he was left out of the March USMNT roster after feeling a sensation in his groin while playing for Coventry.
Borussia Dortmund v Hamburg – 1:30p on ESPN Select: Damion Downs started as Hamburg drew with Koln last weekend, Hamburg are in 11th place following the result.
Juventus v Sassuolo – 3:45p on Paramount+: Weston McKennie and Juventus defeated Udinese 1-0 last weekend for their second straight win to move into fifth place, a point back of Como for fourth place and Champions League qualification. Juve host 10th place Sassuolo on Saturday who are coming off a 1-0 loss to Bologna.
Leeds United v Brentford – 4p on USA Network: Brenden Aaronson and Leeds United drew with Crystal Palace last weekend extending their winless streak to five matches and leaving them just three points removed from the relegation positions. They will host 7th place Brentford heading into the international break.
Philadelphia Union v Chicago Fire – 4:30p on MLS Season Pass: Chris Brady and the Chicago Fire fell to DC United 2-1 last weekend to bring their record to 1-1-2 on the season. Brady has posted two clean sheets in the first four matches and the Fire will be facing a Philadelphia side that has scored just twice in four matches and are still looking for their first win.
Charlotte v Red Bull New York – 7:30p on MLS Season Pass: Tim Ream and Charlotte held Inter Miami, who were notably without Lionel Messi, to a scoreless draw last weekend. They face a RBNY side that are coming off a 1-1 draw with Toronto.
St. Louis City v New England Revolution – 8:30p on MLS Season Pass: Matt Turner and New England gave up the opening goal against Cincinnati last weekend but then went on to score six unanswered goals to win the match 6-1. The Revolution travel to St. Louis this weekend.
Vancouver Whitecaps v San Jose Earthquakes – 10:30p on MLS Season Pass: Sebastian Berhalter has a goal and an assist in each of Vancouver’s past two matches and the team has a perfect record to start the MLS Season. They are hosting a San Jose side that also won their first three matches of the season but are coming off a 1-0 loss to the Sounders.
Sunday
Olympique Lyon v Monaco – 10a on beIN Sports: Tanner Tessmann and Folarin Balogun will face off heading into the international break as the Balogun looks to extend his four match scoring streak while Tessmann and and Lyon look to snap a four match winless streak. Lyon are in fourth despite the winless streak while Monaco have moved up to sixth place, four points back of this weekend’s opponent.
Atalanta v Verona – 10a on Paramount+: Left off the March roster one has to wonder whether Yunus Musah have a path back into the USMNT squad before the World Cup. Musah was on the bench again last weekend as Atalanta drew with Inter Milan, an all too familiar scenario for the midfielder who doesn’t look like he is currently in Pochettino’s plans and doesn’t seem to have the same level of favor with the coach as someone like Gio Reyna who was called in despite playing even less.
Telstar v PSV – 11:45a on ESPN Select: Ricardo Pepi will be on the move to Fulham this Summer but in the meantime he and his PSV teammates will look to bounce back from their 3-2 loss to NEC Nijmegen and continue to close out their title pursuit. Despite the loss PSV still hold a sixteen point lead over second place Feyenoord with seven matches remaining. Their opponent this weekend is Telstar who are currently in the relegation playoff position but defeated PSV 2-0 the first time the teams met this season.
Olympique Marseille v Lille – 12:15p on beIN Sports: Tim Weah and Marseille remain in third place following their 1-0 win over Auxerre last Friday and will host fifth place Lille this weekend. Marseille are just two points ahead of Lyon for third place and the final Champions League spot.
Cincinnati v CF Montreal – 1p on MLS Season Pass: It’s been a rough start to the season for Miles Robinson, Roman Celentano, and Cincinnati who defeated Atlanta in their opener but since have lost three straight league matches and were eliminated from the Concacaf Champions Cup after a 5-1 loss to Tigres on Thursday. Cincinnati also gave up six goals to New England last weekend, not exactly what you want to see from a keeper and centerback combo coming into international camp. They will look to get back on track this Sunday as they face a Montreal side that has one win in their first four league matches.
NYCFC v Inter Miami – 1p on MLS Season Pass: Matt Freese, the presumed USMNT starter this summer, and his NYCFC teammates are undefeated to start the MLS Season. Freese has given up three goals through four matches.
Minnesota United v Seattle Sounders – 2:30p on Fox: Cristian Roldan and Seattle have won three of their first four matches. Roldan wore the captains armband in the first three but came off the bench last weekend against San Jose, presumably for rotation as Seattle was also playing Vancouver in Concacaf Champions Cup, a matchup they won 5-1 on aggregate with Roldan playing every minute of both matches.
Augsburg v Stuttgart – 2:30p on ESPN Select: Noahkai Banks is officially out of the March camp and based on all the comments it seems this is at his own request as he waits to see if he has a future with Germany. While Pochettino more than left the door open for Banks to be included in the summer roster one wonders what would change Banks’ opinion in that time if he was unwilling to attend a March camp that would not have impacted his long-term availability for either country.
Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid – 4p on ESPN Deportes and ESPN Select: Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid close out the weekend as they face cross town rival Real Madrid. Atletico won the first match between the two teams 5-2, with Johnny missing out as it landed in the middle of his time missed due to an ankle injury. Cardoso did not come off the bench last weekend in Atletico’s 1-0 win over Getafe but started on Wednesday in the Champions League matchup with Tottenham as Atletico fell 3-2 but won on aggregate 7-5 with Cardoso playing the entirety of the tie. Despite defeating them earlier in the season Atletico trail Real by nine points in the league standings with both teams back of Barcelona as well.
