Soccer Games I’m Looking Forward To- End of January 2018

Here are some soccer games I’m looking forward to close out January 2018:

Chelsea vs. Newcastle, FA Cup 4^th round

 

Brazilian playmaker Kenedy will play for Chelsea knowing that he’s been heavily sought after by his opponent. Chelsea finally ended a four-match winless run with a 4-0 route of Brighton & Hove Albion. Watch for how manager Antonio Conte lines up his Blues side this weekend as they have a midweek clash in the Carabao Cup. This game will be Sunday at 7:30 am central time on Fox Sports 1.

            Newport County vs. Tottenham, FA Cup 4^th round

 

All I wanna say is this: Newport County is a League Two squad that has won four straight in all competitions. That includes an FA Cup win over Championship squad Leeds in which forward Shawn McCoulsky scored an 89^th-minute match winner. Spurs have won three of their last four in all comp’s, but they’ll hope that Danish international Christian Eriksen is fully recovered from the flu to bolster their attack. Known as “The Exiles”, Newport County hasn’t beaten a top-tier team in the FA Cup since 1964 (fotmob.com). Can the underdogs pull off the upset? You can find out on Saturday at 11:30 am central time on Fox Sports 1.

USA vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina, International Friendly

It’s an ugly homecoming for the US men’s national team, three months after its World Cup Qualifying nightmare. The program will eagerly turn the page vs. a Bosnia-Herzegovina squad that is currently ranked thirty-eighth in the world. The US January Camp roster includes experienced players like Jordan Morris and Paul Arriola, as well as youngsters rising through the ranks such as Marky Delgado and Tyler Adams. But arguably the biggest headline involved losing budding star Jonathan Gonzalez to the Mexican national team. The CF Monterrey man announced his intent to file his one-time national team switch to El Tri. A lot is going against the US men right now. Look to see how the new players respond in this new chapter. The game is Sunday at 8:30 pm central time on… you guessed it, Fox Sports 1.

Mexico vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina, International Friendly

El Tri bossed World Cup Qualifying, taking first place in CONCACAF’s final round while only losing one game. Time is running thin for any Ligamx players on the outside looking in with regard to making Mexico’s World Cup roster. That means for players like Orbelin Pineda and Henry Martin, now’s the time to step up to the plate. Even for the aforementioned Jonathan Gonzalez, there’s still work to be done before players like himself are named to that roster. As for players like Guillermo Ochoa and Nestor Araujo, the route to the final roster basically requires two things: don’t tank and don’t get injured. But while Ochoa and Araujo are near lock-ins, there are many regulars for Mexico who need to make their case over the next four months just like players lower on the depth chart. Bosnia finished a respectable third-place in their European World Cup Qualifying group, and despite that not being good enough for the main event, the Bosnians will now look to building towards European Championship Qualifying next year. This game will be on January 31^st.

 

 

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Nick Vittore