Nominally, Geoff Cameron and Brad Guzan played each other on Saturday

Aston Villa has the worst attack in the Premier League. Only two teams have scored fewer goals than Stoke City, which meant 0-0 was always the most likely result from Saturday’s meeting at Villa Park.

But with any soccer match (particularly at the professional level), there is the expectation that teams will do basic things, like be able to show they’re capable of win the game. We assume teams actually are trying to win, but sometimes, on some very rare occasions, teams aren’t able to show it.

Saturday turned out to be one of those days. The teams combined for only two shots on goal, one of which appeared to be an ill-aimed Matthew Lowton cross. Stoke only put two shots toward Brad Guzan all day, neither of which hit the keepers’ gloves. Stuart James, on hand for The Observer, call the match “painful to watch at times.”

There were, however, three Americans on the field (Oh! So that’s why he’s posting about this):

• Brad Guzan starting in Aston Villa’s goal isn’t news, nor was his ability to keep a clean sheet. However, he did almost nothing on Saturday. No shots on goal for Stoke meant no saves for the U.S. national team’s No. 2.
• Geoff Cameron got another start at left back and had a decent day, though similar caveats apply. Aston Villa couldn’t be described as threatening.
• A for some reason, Eric Lichaj was called in to pay left midfield against one of the weaker attacks in the league. Nominally a fullback, the U.S. international got (what’s becoming) a rare start in front of Nathan Baker, playing well defensively against a Stoke flank manned by Matthew Etherington.

The most notable part of the match had nothing to do with the American trio. Darren Bent, long out of the team with injury and (lately) rumored difference of opinion with Paul Lambert, came on in the 66th minute to applause from the Villa faithful.

But as with everything else that happened at Villa Park on Saturday, it’s hard to say it mattered. The match ended 0-0 with little chance it could have done otherwise.