By Rich

Moritz Broschinski is a 22-year-old forward for VfL Bochum 1848. Broschinski was born on September 23, 2000 in Finsterwalde, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for SV Hertha Finsterwalde and Glückauf Brieske-Senftenberg before joining the youth academy of Energie Cottbus in 2012. His professional career continued at Cottbus, where he made his professional debut for the club on February 4, 2018 in a 0:0 draw with FSV Budissa Bautzen. He went on to make 37 appearances and score 7 goals for Cottbus before joining Borussia Dortmund II in 2020, where he made 33 appearances and scored 3 goals from 2020 to 2023. He joined his current club in 2023, for an undisclosed fee on a three-and-a-half year deal.

By Rich

Hosts 1. FSV Mainz 05 earned an impressive 4:0 victory on Friday over visitors Borussia Mönchengladbach to move into 7th place going into the rest of the weekend’s matches. Mainz’s goals came in the 25th, 49th, 72nd, and 90th+3 minutes off of Jae-sung Lee, Marcus Ingvartsen, Ludovic Ajorque, and Nelson Weiper. Weiper is just 17 years old and with the goal became Mainz’s youngest Bundesliga goalscorer, and Ajorque’s goal was his first in the Bundesliga in just 6 appearances. The win means that Mainz have won their last 3 consecutive home league matches, and the team is now unbeaten in their last 5 meetings with Gladbach, who have won just 1 of their 11 away games this season. The biggest game to watch on Saturday might just be the contest between hosts RB Leipzig and visitors Eintracht Frankfurt, as the 2 clubs are separated by just 1 point in the table. Leipzig are in 5th place and their last home match ended in a 1:2 defeat to Union Berlin, a loss that was their first in 12 in the Bundesliga. The club recovered from that loss, however, with a 3:0 away win over Wolfsburg, and need a win over Frankfurt to remain competitive both in the title race and in the race for Champions League qualification. Frankfurt are coming off a 0:3 loss to Cologne in their last away trip, which ended a 7-match unbeaten streak. Frankfurt did defeat Leipzig 4:0 in this season’s reverse fixture. Of course, the biggest match of the weekend–and one of the biggest matches all season–is Sunday’s contest between hosts FC Bayern München and visitors 1. FC Union Berlin. The 2 clubs are part of the 3-way tie at the top of the table, which also includes Borussia Dortmund, who are away in Hoffenheim on Saturday. Sadio Mane could make his first appearance of 2023, as he has been sidelined since sustaining a leg injury just prior to the World Cup break, but rejoined full training last weekend. Prior to the injury, he had netted 6 goals in 14 Bundesliga appearances since last summer’s move from Liverpool. Trainer Julian Nagelsmann needs goals from the likes of Mane, as Bayern have picked up just 9 of 18 possible league points since the season’s resumption. Bayern have not lost any of their previous 7 league encounters with Union, but Union did hold the champions back on Matchday 5, and Urs Fischer’s squad are unbeaten in the new year. They were held goalless last weekend at home against Schalke, which allowed Dortmund to edge past them on goal differential.