By Rich M

Philipp Max is a 30-year-old left-back for Eintracht Frankfurt. Max was born on September 30, 1993 in Viersen, Germany and spent his youth career playing for SC Baldham from 2000 to 2003, 1860 München from 2003 to 2007, FC Bayern München from 2007 to 2010, and FC Schalke 04 from 2010 to 2012. He made his Bundesliga debut for Schalke on March 25, 2014 against Borussia Dortmund and went on to score 3 goals in 56 appearances for Schalke. He then played for Karlsruher SC from 2014 to 2015, FC Augsburg from 2015 to 2020, and PSV from 2020 to 2023, before joining his current club. Max has also scored 1 goal in 6 appearances for Germany’s Olympic and senior sides.

By Rich M.

Bayer Leverkusen extended its commanding lead in the table on Friday with a 2:1 victory over visitors 1. FSV Mainz 05. The match’s opening goal came just 3 minutes in, when Granit Xhaka whipped a long-range finish past Robin Zentner. Mainz equaled 3 minutes later, when Dominik Kohr sent a flying header past Lukas Hradecky. The winning goal came in the 68th minute, when Robert Andrich sent a strike toward Zentner, who then fumbled the ball over the line. Leverkusen are now unbeaten in 33 games in all competitions this season, surpassing Bayern’s runs in 2020 and 2021. Leverkusen are also the only team in the division who have yet to lose at home this season, while Mainz remain the only side without an away win. You won’t want to miss Saturday’s derby between hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach and visitors VfL Bochum 1848. There has not been a goalless draw in this fixture since Matchday 3 of the 1979/80 season, so expect some goals. Gladbach picked up their first win of the season in the reverse fixture back on Matchday 6, in a 3:1 result The big match on Saturday, though, is the late game between hosts FC Bayern München and visitors RB Leipzig. The hosts are coming off losses to Leverkusen and Bochum, and have already announced the departure of coach Thomas Tuchel at the end of the season. Tuchel will need the services of star striker Harry Kane, given the absences of Kingsley Coman and Bouna Sarr, who both have long-term injuries, and Serge Gnabry, Noussair Mazraoui, and Sacha Boey. Dayot Upemecano will also sit out Saturday’s match, after picking up a red card in last weekend’s defeat. Thanks to a win over Gladbach and a Dortmund-Wolfsburg draw, Leipzig are now just 1 point behind Dortmund in the table, and are traveling to Bayern with almost a full roster. Leipzig haven’t lost any of their last 4 competitive meetings with Bayern, and if Bayern should lose on Saturday, they will have had their worst run in 32 years. Dortmund will host Hoffenheim on Sunday, and a win could put them just 3 points behind third-place Stuttgart, depending on the outcome of not only the Bayern-Leipzig contest, but also Saturday’s contest between Stuttgart and Köln. Hoffenheim’s slide in the table continued last weekend, thanks to a defeat at the hands of Union Berlin, bringing the team’s tally of games without a victory to 8. A loss to Dortmund could slip Hoffenheim into the bottom half of the table, further endangering their chances of European competition. The matchday ends with Sunday’s final game between hosts Augsburg and visitors Freiburg, who are separated by 6 points in the table.