San Salvador, El Salvador (My Sportsbook) - The United States can move one step closer to qualifying for the 2010 World Cup on Saturday when they travel to El Salvador for their second match in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying.
The Americans will bring plenty of confidence into the game after earning a 2-0 win over rivals Mexico in the first contest of the final round, with both goals coming from Michael Bradley.
The United States will be favored to make it two wins in two games on Saturday when they meet an El Salvador side that is considered to be the weakest of the last six teams.
The game will mark the 19th meeting between the two countries with the USA owning a commanding 13-1-4 mark and outscoring El Salvador 41-10 in the previous 18 encounters.
However, the Americans can expect a tough challenge on the road as El Salvador rallied from two goals down against Trinidad and Tobago to earn a 2-2 draw in their opener.
The venue figures to be hostile with FIFA imposing $25,000 worth of fines to the El Salvadoran Football Federation for the behavior of their fans, while the home side also figures to put forth a very defensive team.
Expect El Salvador to get plenty of men behind the ball in effort to frustrate the visitors, while they will look to score from set pieces and counter- attacks.
Regular goalkeeper Tim Howard will miss the game through suspension after picking up a yellow card against Mexico, leaving head coach Bob Bradley to decide between Brad Guzan and Marcus Hahnemann.
Guzan is likely to get the nod after appearing in four World Cup qualifiers and posting four clean sheets in his 11 appearances for the team, while Hahnemann has recently returned from a calf injury.
The 24-year-old Guzan has also played in the UEFA Cup as well as the FA Cup and Carling Cup for English Premiership side Aston Villa this year while serving as the backup to Brad Friedel.
Defender Steve Cherundolo will miss a second straight game through injury, and his replacement is likely to be Frankie Hejduk, who played well against Mexico and gives the USA a defender who can get forward and help in attack.
Landon Donovan's loan spell at Bayern Munich didn't pan out too well, but he scored a pair of goals in his return to MLS for the Los Angeles Galaxy last Sunday, and with one goal against El Salvador, he can equal Brian McBride's record for the most career goals in World Cup qualifying with 10.
Here is the complete 22-man roster for the United States:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Marcus Hahnemann (Reading).
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Stade Rennes), Danny Califf (FC Midtjylland), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege:), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham).
Midfielders: Freddy Adu (AS Monaco), DaMarcus Beasley (Glasgow Rangers), Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach), Maurice Edu (Glasgow Rangers), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids), Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca).
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Xerez), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Cardiff City).
