By Rich

Felix Ohis Uduokhai is a 25-year-old defender for FC Augsburg. Uduokhai was born on September 9, 1997 in Annaberg-Buchholz, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for VfB Annaberg 09, Erzgebirge Aue, and 1860 Munich. His senior career continued at 1860 beginning in 2015, where he made 26 appearances. After the club was relegated to the Regionalliga Bayern in 2017, he signed a 5-year contract with VfL Wolfsburg.Uduokhai then made 30 appearances for Wolfsburg between 2017 and 2020. On August 28, 2019, it was announced that Uduokhai would be loaned to FC Augsburg, and Augsburg then optioned him on June 4, 2020 for a fee of 9 million Euros, where he has scored 2 goals in 30 appearances. Uduokhai also appeared for Germany’s U19, U20, U21, and Olympic squads between 2015 and 2021, scoring 2 goals.

By Rich

Jonas Hofmann picked up a goal and 2 assists against his former club when hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach defeated visitors Borussia Dortmund on Friday by a final score of 4:2. Hofmann’s goal was the first of the match and came just 4 minutes in, off an assist from Lars Stindl. Dortmund tied the match in the 19th minute, when Julian Brandt capitalized on a volley from Jude Bellingham. However, Gladbach pulled ahead again in the 26th minute, when Ramy Bensebaini headed in a free kick from Hofmann. Gladbach then extended their lead in the 30th minute with a goal from Marcus Thuram, and Dortmund closed the lead in the 40th minute, thanks to a goal from Nico Schlotterbeck. The game’s final goal came just moments into the second half, when Kouadio Kone collected a pass from Hofmann and rifled in a low drive from the edge of the box. Bensebaini’s goal was his fifth of the season, making him the league’s highest-scoring defender. Perhaps one of the most intriguing matches of the weekend will be Saturday’s between league leaders FC Bayern München and the league’s last-place club, FC Schalke 04. Schalke collected just their second win of the season on Wednesday, with a 1:0 home victory over visitors Mainz. The club is currently 5 points distant from safety, and desperately needs wins to avoid relegation. Their opponents, however, have slowly recovered from a surprisingly weak start to the season, and are now on a streak of 12 consecutive wins in all competitions. Bayern have also been averaging more than 4 goals per game, and have benefited from the services of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who has established himself in the starting lineup by regularly finding the net. Leroy Sane is expected to start in the place of Sadio Mane, who is sidelined with a leg injury. Bayern’s Jamal Musiala is set to make his 100th competitive appearance for the club. The record for this fixture is heavily in Bayern’s favor: Schalke are winless in their last 21 matches against Bayern, and Bayern’s combined goal differential in their past 4 encounters with Schalke is 20:0 in Bayern’s favor. At the other end of the table, Freiburg and Union Berlin will finish 2022’s competitions when they meet in Freiburg on Sunday. The clubs are tied on points at the top of the table, 4 points behind Bayern. League competition will then resume in January after the World Cup, when Leipzig host Bayern on Friday, January 20.