FC Schalke 04 remain stuck at the bottom of the table after a scoreless draw on Friday against visitors VfL Wolfsburg. The match featured two Schalke goals that were then disallowed after VAR reviews for offsides. Friday’s draw is now the third consecutive goalless draw for the club: their first in history. Wolfsburg are now unbeaten in their last six Bundesliga games against Schalke and haven’t conceded a goal in their last four. Among the first matches on Saturday will be the derby between Freiburg and nearby Stuttgart, a contest that will feature a slight Japanese accent. Freiburg’s Ritsu Doan was one of the heroes of Japan’s 2022 World Cup campaign, and is coming off an assist in Freiburg’s last home match. Stuttgart’s Wataru Endo scored the goal that saved the club from the relegation play-off last season, and also scored the least time Stuttgart picked up a point, in Matchday 17’s 2:2 draw at Hoffenheim. Freiburg have won their last 5 meetings with Stuttgart, including this season’s reverse fixture on Matchday 3. Also worth watching on Saturday is the match between hosts 1. FSV Mainz 05 and visitors FC Augsburg, as the two clubs are separated by just two points in the table. Although Mainz will have the home field advantage, that advantage hasn’t counted for much this season: the 05ers have collected just two victories in the MEWA Arena this campaign. Augsburg’s Mergim Berisha, on the other hand, has scored in all three of his appearances this calendar year. He is expected to continue up front alongside Dion Beljo as the club hopes to avenge their injury-time loss in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. The big match on Saturday, however, is the late game between hosts RB Leipzig and visitors Union Berlin, which will feature Croatia international teammates Josko Gvardiol and Josip Juranovic lining up on opposite sides. Although kept off the scoresheet last time out against Cologne, the Roten Bullen are on an unbeaten run of 18 matches, and that has been partially without Christopher Nkunku, who just returned to training after a long-term knee injury. Union Berlin have collected five consecutive victories in all competitions since the beginning of the year, and are just one point behind Bayern. Union are also on a four-match win streak against Leipzig in the Bundesliga. Looking ahead to Sunday, Hertha will look to escape the relegation zone when they host Gladbach, but that will depend on the outcome of Saturday’s Freiburg-Stuttgart derby.
By Rich
FC Schalke 04 remain stuck at the bottom of the table after a scoreless draw on Friday against visitors VfL Wolfsburg. The match featured two Schalke goals that were then disallowed after VAR reviews for offsides. Friday’s draw is now the third consecutive goalless draw for the club: their first in history. Wolfsburg are now unbeaten in their last six Bundesliga games against Schalke and haven’t conceded a goal in their last four. Among the first matches on Saturday will be the derby between Freiburg and nearby Stuttgart, a contest that will feature a slight Japanese accent. Freiburg’s Ritsu Doan was one of the heroes of Japan’s 2022 World Cup campaign, and is coming off an assist in Freiburg’s last home match. Stuttgart’s Wataru Endo scored the goal that saved the club from the relegation play-off last season, and also scored the least time Stuttgart picked up a point, in Matchday 17’s 2:2 draw at Hoffenheim. Freiburg have won their last 5 meetings with Stuttgart, including this season’s reverse fixture on Matchday 3. Also worth watching on Saturday is the match between hosts 1. FSV Mainz 05 and visitors FC Augsburg, as the two clubs are separated by just two points in the table. Although Mainz will have the home field advantage, that advantage hasn’t counted for much this season: the 05ers have collected just two victories in the MEWA Arena this campaign. Augsburg’s Mergim Berisha, on the other hand, has scored in all three of his appearances this calendar year. He is expected to continue up front alongside Dion Beljo as the club hopes to avenge their injury-time loss in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. The big match on Saturday, however, is the late game between hosts RB Leipzig and visitors Union Berlin, which will feature Croatia international teammates Josko Gvardiol and Josip Juranovic lining up on opposite sides. Although kept off the scoresheet last time out against Cologne, the Roten Bullen are on an unbeaten run of 18 matches, and that has been partially without Christopher Nkunku, who just returned to training after a long-term knee injury. Union Berlin have collected five consecutive victories in all competitions since the beginning of the year, and are just one point behind Bayern. Union are also on a four-match win streak against Leipzig in the Bundesliga. Looking ahead to Sunday, Hertha will look to escape the relegation zone when they host Gladbach, but that will depend on the outcome of Saturday’s Freiburg-Stuttgart derby.
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By Rich
Henning Matriciani is a 22-year-old right-back and centre-back for FC Schalke 04. Matriciani was born on March 14, 2000 in Lippstadt, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for DSC Arminia Bielefeld until 2015, and SV Lippstadt from 2015 to 2018. His senior career continued at Lippstadt beginning in 2018, where he made 17 appearances before transferring to his current club in 2020. He has so far made 38 appearances for Schalke 04 II and 23 appearances for the senior squad. By Rich
Augsburg’s Mergim Berisha scored for a third consecutive game to drive his club to a 1:0 win on Friday over visitors Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Berisha’s goal came in the match’s 55th minute, when Arne Engels’s corner from the right found Berisha unmarked, who headed the ball in from the edge of the box. The goal was Berisha’s sixth of the season, five of which have come on home turf. Augsburg have lost just one of five home games in which Berisha has scored. On Saturday, many Bundesliga fans will be watching the contest between hosts Borussia Dortmund and visitors Sport-Club Freiburg. The two clubs occupy the fourth and fifth berths in the table and are tied on points, with 34 apiece. The hosts are currently enjoying a 3-match winning streak to start 2023, and the streak is due in part to the scoring prowess of Jude Bellingham, who donned the captain’s armband in Leverkusen. The club’s normal captain, Marco Reus, has returned to fitness and is expected to start on Saturday. Freiburg are coming off a 6:0 loss to Wolfsburg, a 1:1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt, and a 3:1 win over Augsburg. Freiburg will likely see the return of top scorer Vincenzo Grifo, who has recovered from an illness that restricted him to two substitute outings. Freiburg does not have a good record in Dortmund: the Breisgauer have won just one of their last fifteen Bundesliga matches at Signal Iduna Park, while losing thirteen and drawing one. The late match on Saturday will be that between hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach and nearby rivals FC Schalke 04. The Foals scored their first away win of the season last weekend at Hoffenheim, a win that lifted the club up to eighth place and closer to qualification for European competition. Jonas Hofmann was the star performer of that match, with two goals and one assist. The club has won six of nine league games at Borussia-Park this season, but will likely forgo the services of captain Lars Stindl, who is suffering from a back problem. Schalke continue to struggle this season, having accumulated just ten points. Schalke have also managed just two goals in their last five outings, and just fourteen goals all season. The season’s earlier fixture between the two clubs, however, ended in a draw. Looking ahead to Sunday, competition will wrap up this weekend when Wolfsburg host Bayern München. Wolfsburg were on a ten-match unbeaten streak before losing to Bremen last weekend, while Bayern are looking to protect their slender lead at the top of the table. |
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