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USA begin their title defense in the CONCACAF Nations League as they host Grenada at the Q2 Stadium on Friday.
Grenada have played two games in the competition against El Salvador thus far. They suffered a 2-1 loss in the campaign opener last Sunday but played well to hold them to a 2-2 draw in their home game on Tuesday.
The USA warmed up for their campaign opener with two friendly games earlier this month. They defeated Morocco 3-0 last Thursday and played out a goalless draw against Uruguay on Sunday. They head into the game well rested and are strong favorites against the Caribbean side.
USA vs Grenada Head-to-Head
The two sides have locked horns just three times in competitive fixtures thus far. The two teams took part in the qualification campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup while they met once in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
As expected, the home team have been the dominant side in the fixture and have a 100% record against the Spice Boyz.
USA form guide (all competitions): D-W-L-W-D
Grenada form guide (all competitions): D-L-L-D-L
USA vs Grenada Team News
USA
Gregg Berhalter had announced a 27-man squad for the June matches but Djordje Mihailovic withdrew on account of an ankle injury. They are now preparing for their title defense with 26 men.
Zack Steffen dropped out due to personal reasons and was replaced in the squad by Sean Johnson.
Injured: Giovanni Reyna, Miles Robinson, Djordje Mihailovic
Suspended: None
Unavailable: Zack Steffen
Grenada
The visitors have also named a 26-man squad for the League phase and have no reported injuries at the moment. Kwesi Paul will serve a one-match suspension due to yellow card accumulation.
Injured: None
Suspended: Kwesi Paul
Unavailable: None
USA vs Grenada Predicted XIs
USA (4-3-3): Matt Turner (GK); Antonee Robinson, Aaron Long, Walker Zimmerman, George Bello; Luca de la Torre, Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah; Christian Pulisic, Paul Arriola, Timothy Weah
Grenada (4-2-3-1): Trishawn Thomas (GK); Benjamin Ettienne, Christian James, Kraig Noel-McLeod, Tyrone Sterling; Alexander McQueen, Kwazim Theodore; Romar Frank, Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong, Kharlton Belmar; Kairo Mitchell.
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USA vs Grenada Prediction
The Stars and Stripes have a clear advantage in terms of squad quality over Grenada and have never dropped a point in this fixture. At home, they are not expected to drop points, but they might not be able to keep a clean sheet as Grenada have scored in their last two games.
The USA should be able to eke out a narrow win, with the likes of Timothy Weah and Pulisic expected to run the show in Texas.
Prediction: USA 3-1 Grenada
