By Rich

Kilian Fischer is a 21-year-old left back and defensive midfielder for VfL Wolfsburg. Fischer was born on October 12, 2000 in Miltenberg, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for TuS Bad Aibling and 1860 Munich. His senior career continued at Munich beginning in 2017, and in July 2019 he joined Türkgücü München, where he made 39 appearances between 2019 and 2021. He then spent a year playing for 1. FC Nürnberg before joining his current club. Fischer has also made 2 appearances for Germany’s U21 squad.

By Rich

Hosts 1. FSV Mainz 05 picked up a point on Friday with a 1:1 draw against visitors Hertha BSC, thanks to a late equalizer from Anthony Caci. The match’s first goal came in the 30th minute, when Lucas Tousart headed the ball off a cross from Chidera Ejuke. Caci’s equalizer came in the 4th minute of stoppage time, when he volleyed in a loose header at the back post. Tousart’s goal for Hertha was his first of the season, and 3 of the 4 goals he has scored for the club have put Hertha up 1:0. Caci’s goal was his first in Germany, as he just joined Mainz from Strasbourg over the summer. The draw means that Mainz are unbeaten in 7 Bundesliga meetings with Hertha, with 4 wins and 3 draws. All eyes will turn to the Ruhrpott on Saturday for one of the league’s biggest derbies, when Schalke travel to nearby Dortmund for the Revierderby. Jude Bellingham is set to make his 100th competitive appearance for the hosts, and he has not missed a game so far this season. If he can propel his club to a win on Saturday, Dortmund could return, at least temporarily, to the top of the table. Schalke have collected 6 points from 6 games so far this season, and are coming off a 3:1 derby win over Bochum. Dortmund have won the last 3 derbies, but haven’t won 4 consecutive derbies since the 1960s. While Schalke are without a goal in their last 3 meetings with Dortmund, not 1 of Dortmund’s last 99 Bundesliga matches have ended goalless. Another derby will take place in the south of the country on Saturday when Augsburg host nearby Bayern München. Augsburg picked up their second win of the season last weekend when they collected 3 points against newly promoted Bremen, but the club has lost 3 matches at home this season. Bayern are coming off a 2:0 win over Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League earlier this week, and are now unbeaten in all competitions in 10 matches. Saturday’s late game will be that between 8th-place Gladbach and 10th-place Leipzig, who are separated by just 2 points in the table. Gladbach’s position in the upper half of the table is due in no small part to the goalkeeping talent of Yann Sommer, who is in 2nd place league-wide for the most saves, half of which he made against Bayern on Matchday 4. Gladbach are also benefiting from the league’s second-best defense, after Union Berlin. Looking ahead to Sunday, Union will look to preserve their position at the top of the table when they host Wolfsburg - will the visitors be able to hold off Bundesliga Player of the Month Sheraldo Becker?

By Rich

Tom Bischof is a 17-year-old midfielder for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. Bischof was born on June 28, 2005 in Aschaffenburg, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for TSV Amorbach until 2015, when he joined the youth academy of his current club. He made his professional debut for Hoffenheim in the 1. Bundesliga on March 19, 2022, in an away match against Hertha Berlin. Bischof has also made 12 appearances for Germany’s U16 and U17 squads since 2020, scoring 4 goals.