USA vs. Honduras: Preview, lineups, live stream

How will the U.S. line up?

The U.S. will likely line up in one of two formations. The first, and probably the most likely, is a 4-4-2, with Altidore and Dempsey up front, Pulisic and Nagbe out wide, and Michael Bradley and someone else in central midfield. That someone else could be Sebastian Lletget, Kellyn Acosta or Alejandro Bedoya. Bedoya is the safe bet, but Acosta is the most interesting.

The other option is a 4-2-3-1. That would leave Altidore up front by himself, with either Dempsey or Kljestan in more of a number 10 role. Kljestan seems unlikely to start given he was only a late replacement for Wood, but he would provide a different look, and could be the traditional playmaker a 4-4-2 would lack.

There will be big questions in defense regardless of the formation. Almost all the defenders in the squad are center-backs, which means someone’s going to be playing out of position at full-back. DaMarcus Beasley is an option at left-back, where he was surprisingly good at the 2014 World Cup, but his age is catching up with him, so Jorge Villafana gets the nod.

As for right-back, the choice is between Michael Orozco and Geoff Cameron. Playing Orozco there would allow Arena to use his best center-back partnership — Cameron and John Brooks — but Cameron’s probably a better right back than Orozco, too, which would leave Brooks in the middle alongside either Omar Gonzalez or Walker Zimmerman.

This is a tough one to call given both injuries and the fact this is Arena’s first competitive game with all the European-based players available, but the lineup should look something like the above.