By Rich

Luc Ihorst is a 19-year-old forward for SV Werder Bremen. Ihorst was born on March 7, 2000 in Damme, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for Bremen. He made his debut for Werder Bremen II on July 27, 2019 in a Regionalliga Nord match against Lüneburger SK Hansa, and scored his first goal on August 31, 2019 against Schwarz-Weiß Rehden. On September 21, 2019, he was called up to Bremen’s first team and started on the bench against RB Leipzig, before being substituted in in the 80th minute, making his professional debut. Ihorst also made 3 appearances in 2017 for Germany’s U18 squad.

By Rich

​Cologne on Friday obtained their 3rd successive Bundesliga win over hosts SC Paderborn 07 with a 2:1 score. Both of Cologne’s goals came in the first half of the match: the first goal was scored by Jorge Mere in the 28th minute, and the second goal was scored by captain Jonas Hector in the 36th minute. Paderborn’s lone goal finally came in the 73rd minute, when Dennis Srbeny scored his 4th goal in 8 appearances. The win means that Cologne is unbeaten in all 4 Bundesliga matches against Paderborn, and further dims Paderborn’s chances of climbing out of the relegation zone before the end of the season. This Saturday will feature perhaps the biggest Battle of the Borussias in some time when Borussia Mönchengladbach host Borussia Dortmund. The 2 clubs are separated by just 2 points in the upper ranks of the table. Gladbach are unbeaten in their last 5 Bundesliga competitions and have no players out with injuries. Dortmund, for their part, have now notched 3 wins without conceding a single goal, and although are doing without the injured Marco Reus, have benefited from the services of Jadon Sancho, who is the league’s 3rd-highest scorer, and who has either scored or assisted in each of his last 7 Bundesliga matches. Dortmund have won each of the last 9 Bundesliga matches against Gladbach. Earlier on Saturday, 2 more of the league’s top scorers, Wout Weghorst and Timo Werner, will face off when RB Leipzig travel to Wolfsburg. Both teams came from behind last weekend to draw their opponents, and Leipzig’s squad is keenly aware of the 3 points that separate them from 1st-place Bayern. Wolfsburg’s players are unbeaten in 5 matches and just 1 point behind 6th-place Schalke, and are looking for European places again. Even if Leipzig can obtain 3 points against Wolfsburg, 1st place in the league will not be decided until Sunday, when Bayern host nearby Augsburg. Bayern will be wearing an anniversary kit to celebrate the club’s 120th birthday, and have shown they can succeed even without star striker Robert Lewandowski. Last week’s 6:0 rout of Hoffenheim extended their unbeaten streak to 14 in all competitions, and the club is also anticipating the eventual return of injured defender Niklas Süle, who has resumed training while still recovering from a torn ligament. Augsburg could hope for a repeat of the 2:2 draw that resulted from the prior meeting this season of the 2 clubs, but Martin Schmidt’s club has lost each of their last 4 away matches, managing to score just 1 goal. Also on Sunday, a win for Mainz against visiting Düsseldorf could push them further away from the relegation zone.