John Brooks scored a game-winning goal last weekend to move Hertha Berlin into a UEFA Champions League spot. Now, he will attempt to help keep the club there.
Brooks and Hertha Berlin will aim to build on their 2-1 home triumph over Bayer Leverkusen when they visit 12th-placed SV Darmstadt on Saturday. Hertha Berlin does not necessarily need a win, but could use one given that it is only a point ahead of Wolfsburg for the German Bundesliga’s final UEFA Champions League berth. Brooks has started the last four games for his side, and is likely to once again be in the lineup as it tries to move into the third-place position that Borussia Moenchengladbach currently holds.
Fabian Johnson will be looking to help prevent that from happening on Saturday. Johnson, who continued his run of excellent form this week in the UEFA Champions League, and Moenchengladbach travel to take on Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. The match should prove no easy task for Johnson and Moenchengladbach, and anything less than taking three points could see them fall out of the Champions League picture for the time being.
If you are looking for another match to watch, search no further than Club America’s clash with Guangzhou Evergrande in the FIFA Club World Cup. Ventura Alvarado will be hoping to see the field for the Liga MX side on Saturday, as doing so would make him the third U.S. Men’s National Team player to compete in the international tournament. Alvarado is far from a shoo-in to start, however, given that he has rarely been given the nod by the club in recent weeks and months.
Here is who the Americans Abroad tango with this weekend:
FRIDAY
Eric Lichaj and Nottingham Forest play Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Andrew Wooten and SV Sandhausen play TSV Eintracht Braunschweig.
SATURDAY
Tim Howard and Everton play Norwich City.
DeAndre Yedlin, Lynden Gooch and Sunderland play Watford.
Geoff Cameron and Stoke City play West Ham United.
Cody Cropper and Milton Keynes Dons play Ipswich Town.
Tim Ream, Emerson Hyndman and Fulham play Brentford.
Jonathan Spector and Birmingham City play Middlesbrough.
Danny Williams and Reading play Preston North End.
Gedion Zelalem and Rangers play Greenock Morton.
Alfredo Morales and FC Ingolstadt 04 play Bayern Munich.
John Brooks and Hertha Berlin play SV Darmstadt 98.
Aron Johannsson and Werder Bremen play FC Cologne. (Johannsson is out injured.)
Fabian Johnson and Borussia Moenchengladbach play Bayer Leverkusen.
Bobby Wood and FC Union Berlin play Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Alejandro Bedoya and FC Nantes play Toulouse.
Ventura Alvarado and Club America play Guangzhou Evergrande in the FIFA Club World Cup.
SUNDAY
Brad Guzan and Aston Villa play Arsenal.
Timmy Chandler and Eintracht Frankfurt play Borussia Dortmund.
Caleb Stanko and SC Freiburg play FC Nurnberg.
Terrence Boyd and RB Leipzig play Shawn Barry and FSV Frankfurt. (Boyd is out injured.)
Rubio Rubin and FC Utrecht play Ajax. (Rubin is out injured.)
Desevio Payne and FC Groningen play Feyenoord Rotterdam.
Jose Torres and Tigres UANL play Pumas UNAM in the second leg of the Liga MX Apertura Finals.
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Which of these matches are you most looking forward to? Expecting Brooks and Hertha Berlin to come out on top? Do you see Alvarado playing in the Club World Cup?
Share your thoughts below.
