Bruce Arena has more wins than anyone else in the history of the United States Men's National Team. Now, he's back in the saddle after taking over for Jurgen Klinsmann and will be making his second debut with the club in San Diego in a friendly match against Serbia that will help get the club ready for its next round of World Cup qualifiers in March.
This soccer duel will go down Sunday, January 29, 2016, at 1 p.m. ET at Qualcomm Stadium. The match will be televised live on ESPN2.
Odds Analysis
The Americans are clearly going to be big favorites in this match. Even though this isn't nearly the same USA side that we're going to see in March when push comes to shove, it's still going to be a really good team that goes against a Serbia team that is going to probably be at less than full strength as well. Keep in mind that the USA is ranked No. 28 in the world right now and is far ahead of Serbia at No. 45, and that should weigh into the minds of the oddsmakers as well when they put this match together.
Roster Analysis
This Serbian team does have some talent on it, but how much of that talent is going to be coming to San Diego for a friendly match is a question mark. Captain Branislav Ivanovic clearly isn't going to be here thanks to his ties to Chelsea, a team playing in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday. Instead, we suspect we're going to see some of the younger players tied to lesser sides. Predrag Rajkovic is probably going to be in net, as Maccabi Tel Aviv won't be missing him all that much.
In what can't be classified as much of a shock, Arena has called upon a team of nothing but MLS players who are out of season right now. That means we're probably going to see some stiff competition in net for the third goalie spot behind Tim Howard and Brad Guzan, possibly headed by Brian Rowe, Arena's keeper with the LA Galaxy from last season.
Michael Bradley will captain this team with Jozy Altidore doing the honors as the top striker of the bunch, and the regulars we've come to know and love like Jermaine Jones, Alejandro Bedoya, Gyasi Zardes, Chris Wondolowski, Graham Zusi and Brad Evans will all be a part of the roster as well.
Recent Form
It's tough to gauge the form of either of these teams. The Americans were really in bad shape at the end of the Klinsmann era, losing their first two matches of the Hex against Mexico and Costa Rica while drawing against New Zealand in a friendly played in Washington D.C.
Serbia meanwhile, last played in a friendly match against Ukraine, a 2-0 loss to Kharkiv. The team has played well in World Cup qualifiers, picking up eight points of a possible 12 against Ireland, Moldova, Austria and Wales since September.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
As square as the Americans are going to be in this match, we see no reason why they won't light up the scoreboard in this opening match of the Arena era. The real question is what the form is going to look like with Arena as the boss of this squad, as this could be telling. If this is anything like his good old days, Altidore could be left to play up top with some more forward-thinking options in the midfield flanking him. And will the team play five at the back? That could be a big assessment as well, especially with one of the top wing players on the roster, DeAndre Yedlin not coming home from Tottenham for this match.
Still, Serbia's side will be a shell of itself as well, and this isn't a fixture in which the team figures to stay competitive.
Soccer Odds: USA 3, Serbia 0
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