By Rich

Jannes-Kilian Horn is a 21-year-old defender for 1. FC Köln.  Horn was born on February 6, 1997 in Braunschweig, Germany and spent his youth career playing football for VfB Rot-Weiß 04 Braunschweig until 2008 and VfL Wolfsburg from 2008 to 2016.  His senior continued for Wolfsburg’s reserve and senior squads from 2016 to 2017, where he made 17 appearances.  He transferred to 1. FC Köln in 2017, citing the club’s “fantastic fans” and “football-crazy city”.  Horn has also played for Germany’s U16, U18, U19, U20, and U21 squads since 2012, making 25 appearances and scoring 1 goal.

By Rich

​Mainz ended a 3-game losing streak on Friday with a 2:0 shutout of Hertha Berlin.  Both goals came from Robin Quaison, in the 40th and 65th minutes.  Hertha failed to get a shot on net at all in the first half, and the loss ends Hertha’s 4-game unbeaten streak.  This was Mainz’ first away win in the Bundesliga in almost a year, and the 3 points keeps them tied in points with SV Werder Bremen going into the rest of the weekend’s contests.  League leader Bayern München travels to Wolfsburg on Saturday and will look to extend their winning streak to 10 while in town.  Bayern trainer Jupp Heynckes will be back on the bench after missing last weekend’s match against Schalke due to a head cold, but Bayern will play without suspended midfielder Arturo Vidal, who will be replaced by Thiago.  Wolfsburg will look to avenge last season’s second match against Bayern, which they lost 0:6, and Bayern striker famously scored 5 goals in 9 minutes in a 2015 contest between the 2 clubs.  Wolfsburg trainer Martin Schmidt has, however, only lost 1 of his last 4 Bundesliga matches against Bayern, and this weekend’s match will be his 100th Bundesliga appearance as a coach.  Also on Saturday, the Bundesliga’s 2 youngest coaches will face each other when Schalke hosts Hoffenheim.  Both men came out of Hoffenheim’s youth academy, and their respective clubs are separated by only 3 points in the table.  Schalke are unbeaten in their last 6 home games against Hoffenheim, but have also lost as many matches so far in 2018 as they did in the entire first half of the season.  A key player to watch on Saturday is Mark Uth, who with 10 goals is Hoffenheim’s leading scorer this season, but who will be moving to Schalke this summer.  Looking further ahead, the 2 Borussias face each other on Sunday, and new Dortmund striker Michy Batshuayi has scored 3 goals in his first 2 matches for the club.  Dortmund have also won their last 5 Bundesliga meetings with Gladbach.  The Bundesliga’s first Monday fixture since May 2016 comes a day later when Eintracht Frankfurt hosts RB Leipzig.  Just 2 points separate the Bundesliga’s 2 most multicultural teams, and Eintracht Frankfurt have won 3 of their last 4 matches.

By Rivh

​Ole Käuper is a 21-year-old central midfielder for SV Werder Bremen. Käuper was born on January 9, 1997 in Bremen, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for ATSV Sebaldsbrück until 2005, and SV Werder Bremen from 2005 to 2015. On October 24, 2015, Käuper made his professional debut for Werder Bremen II in a 4:0 win over Erzgebirge Aue. In September 2017, Käuper was awarded his first professional contract by SV Werder Bremen, and made his first appearance for the first squad on December 13, 2017 against Bayer 04 Leverkusen, playing for the first 73 minutes. Käuper has also played for Germany’s U16, U17, and U20 squads in 2013 and 2014. When signing his first professional contract, Käuper said it had always been a dream of his to play for his hometown club

By Rich

​Leipzig gained a firm footing near the top of the table on Friday with a 2:0 shutout against visiting Augsburg. Leipzig’s first goal came in the 17th minute when defender Dayot Upamecano scored on a rebound, and the second goal came at the 70th minute, when a free kick by Naby Keita found the goal after a deflection off the Augsburg wall. Upamecano’s goal was Leipzig’s 100th goal in the Bundesliga, and Leipzg also has the best record on Friday nights in the Bundesliga: 5 wins and 1 draw. The loss extended Augsburg’s record as the worst in the league on Friday nights: they haven’t won on a Friday in 13 matches over 4 years. Another club near the top of the table might be experiencing a key reunion on Saturday when they host Hamburg: Marco Reus may join teammate Mario Götze on the pitch for the first time since they played together against Mainz on January 29, 2017. Götze has recovered from a back complaint and BVB trainer Peter Stöger said that he’s doing well. The club was still evaluating Reus this week following his recovery from a knee ligament injury. Two other clubs at the top of the table will face each other directly on Saturday, when Schalke travels to Bayern München. Bayern won the match 3:0 when the 2 clubs met earlier this season, and Schalke has only collected 4 points since the winter break. Nevertheless, Schalke coach Domenico Tedesco believes that his squad plays more boldly when they’re not at home, win the ball back more, and attack in numbers, and goalkeeper and captain Ralf Fährmann said that his teammates were looking forward to giving Bayern a real fright. Key players to watch will include Leon Goretzka, who will be looking to make a good impression on his future employers, and Robert Lewandowski, who has scored in every one of Bayern’s 10 Bundesliga home games so far this season. Looking ahead to Sunday, Bremen will try to stay out of the relegation zone when they host Wolfsburg. The 2 clubs are separated by just 4 points, and Bremen has benefited from the services of US striker Aron Johannsson, who had a hand in last weekend’s last-minute win over Schalke. The win lifted Bremen out of the relegation zone for the first time since the season started. Johannsson struggled to play earlier in the season due to a hip problem, but coach Florian Kohfeldt began playing him again starting on Matchday 18, saying he can play in several different positions and is a really hard worker.