Americans Abroad: Friedel, Aston Villa aim for sweep of Manchester United

 

By TRAVIS CLARK

The last time Manchester United took on Aston Villa, Brad Friedel kept a clean sheet, helping Villa to a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford.

This afternoon, Friedel will be gunning for a repeat performance when Villa plays host to the Reds. Keeping Premier League leading scorer Wayne Rooney at bay will be no easy task, but Friedel will look to add to his 11 clean sheets this season.

Not only is it a chance for a clean sweep of Manchester United, a win today would put Aston Villa back into a tie for fourth place -- depending on the outcome of the Arsenal-Liverpool and Tottenham-Wolverhampton matches.

Here are the other Americans in action today:

Eddie Johnson, Freddy Adu and Aris play Skoda Xanthi in the Greek Cup quarterfinal.

Jozy Altidore and Hull City play Blackburn.

Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Everton play Chelsea.

Jonathan Spector and West Ham United play Birmingham.

Marcus Hahnemann and Wolverhampton Wanderers play Tottenham.

DaMarcus Beasley, Maurice Edu and Rangers play Motherwell.

Dominic Cervi and Celtic play Hearts.

Jermaine Jones and Schalke 04 play VfL Osnabruck in the DFB Pokal quarterfinal. (Jones is out injured.)

What do you think of Americans in action today? Will Everton beat Chelsea? Can Adu and Johnson team up again? Will Jozy get another goal?

Share your thoughts below.