Who’s Hot?

Clint Dempsey: It might be an obvious pick, and you may have heard this before, but Clint Dempsey plays really, really well in the FA Cup. The ASN 100 No. 2 scored twice in Tottenham’s 3-0 victory against Coventry City just four days after tallying as a substitute in a league match against Reading. Perhaps more important is the chemistry Dempsey displayed with Gareth Bale, sometimes considered a rival for a spot in the starting XI. Dempsey has shown in the past he can work well with Spurs’ strikers; pairing with Bale could provide some delightful football.

Here are the highlights. (Who could forget the 1987 FA Cup Final?)

My only regret is one of the other videos of Dempsey’s sweet headed goals, titled “Clint Dempsey pwning n00bs," has been removed because of copyright claims. Make no mistake though, English teams: If you are n00bs, Clint Dempsey will pwn you.

DaMarcus Beasley: This might seem an odd choice. After all, Beasley’s Puebla side lost its opening Clausura match against Tijuana, a team featuring Americans Edgar Castillo and Joe Corona. But this isn’t "Whose team is hot?" It’s “Who’s Hot?” and Beasley is certainly trending upward after a strong opening week performance. He was incredibly involved in his 71 minutes of play—logging several shots, getting in on goal, and setting up teammates with good balls. Puebla might struggle this season, but it’s a great sign that the 30-year-old Beasley, who sits just three caps away from 100 national team appearances, still has plenty of gas in the tank.

Who’s Not?

Americans playing in Birmingham: It certainly wasn’t a pleasant weekend in Birmingham, home to the Premier League’s Aston Villa and its rival, Championship side Birmingham City. Up-and-coming defender Will Packwood, a Blues player, broke his leg and will be out for at least nine months of recovery and rehabilitation. It’s an unfortunate chapter in a story that was progressing so well for the U.S. His teammate, Jonathan Spector, missed the 1-1 draw with Leeds United with a back injury.

Across town, Brad Guzan has watched the last two Villa matches from the bench. He saw 17 goals go by him in four games prior, but manager Paul Lambert says Guzan is simply getting a rest. Most of the goals have come from errors Guzan couldn't have prevented, but it’s quite understandable one would need a rest after all that.

Right back Eric Lichaj might’ve wished he were next to Guzan for the FA Cup. He started and appeared to score the opening goal of the match—for Ipswich.

The goal was later credited to Michael Chopra, and Villa came from behind to win 2-1 but the match didn’t provide Lichaj’s brightest moments. Like Guzan, he was on the bench for Villa’s Capital One Cup defeat Monday. All in all, not the best time to be a Yank in the West Midlands.

Jon Arnold (@ArnoldcommaJon) is a freelance writer based in Phoenix and the co-host of MLS in 30 on NASN.TV.