By Rich

Pascal Stenzel is a 26-year-old right-back for VfB Stuttgart. Stenzel was born on March 20, 1996 in Bünde, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for DSC Arminia Bielefeld, VfL Osnabrück, and Borussia Dortmund. His senior career continued at Dortmund, where he made his professional debut in the 3. Liga on August 2, 2014 against Holstein Kiel. On January 29, 2016, he joined SC Freiburg on a loan until June 30, 2017, and joined the club permanently a few months later. He was loaned out to VfB Stuttgart for the 2019-20 season, and signed a permanent contract with the club on July 1, 2020, where he has since made more than 50 appearances. Stenzel has also appeared for Germany’s U19, U20, and U21 squads since 2014.

By Rich

Substitute Julian Brandt scored 2 goals on Friday to give Borussia Dortmund a 2:0 victory over hosts VfB Stuttgart, narrowing the gap between the league’s top 2 clubs to 6 points. Brandt entered the match early on, when Gio Reyna had to leave the pitch with an ankle problem after just over a minute of play. Brandt’s first goal came in the 12th minute, when he converted a pass from Erling Haaland into an open goal. Brandt was finally able to double the lead in the 72nd minute, thanks to an assist from Marco Reus. Brandt’s first goal was the earliest goal by a substitute in Bundesliga history, and the brace was his first for Dortmund. Stuttgart’s loss was its 19th consecutive at home, extending its current record, and Dortmund have only lost 2 of their last 11 trips to Stuttgart. Saturday’s contests will feature several derbies as the season enters its final weeks. Augsburg will travel to nearby München, and are coming off a 2:1 victory over Mainz on Wednesday, significantly improving their chances of avoiding relegation. Augsburg also won the reverse fixture back in November, their first win in the Bavarian derby in more than 6 years. Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski, who has scored 22 goals in 18 meetings with Augsburg, still needs 11 goals to break his own single-season scoring record. Also on Saturday, Köln will host nearby Mainz, and are anticipating the return of striker Anthony Modeste, who was sidelined with an illness in the 1:0 loss to Union Berlin last weekend, and whose scoring prowess is needed if the club is going to make the European cut. Mainz are sitting comfortably clear of relegation danger and even have a small chance of qualifying for European competition. The big derby on Saturday is, of course, that between the Berlin clubs. Hertha, the hosts of the match, are currently sitting in one of the two automatic relegation spots and desperately need a win if they want to remain in the first league next season. Hertha’s biggest goal threat of the season, Stevan Jovetic, is pushing to start on Saturday after only making it as far as the bench in last weekend’s loss to Leverkusen. If he does start, he will face star Union striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who is the club’s record Bundesliga scorer with 17 goals, including his career-best 12 this season. Union have already defeated Hertha twice this season: once in the reverse fixture and once in the DFB Pokal. Looking ahead to Sunday, several of the clubs in the top half of the table will continue to jockey for position: Leverkusen will travel to Bochum, Freiburg will travel to Frankfurt, and Leipzig will host Hoffenheim.

By Rich

Marvin Plattenhardt is a 30-year-old left back for Hertha BSC. Plattenhardt was born on January 26, 1992 in Filderstadt, Germany, and spent his youth career playing for 1. FC Frickenhausen from 1999 to 2005, FV Nürtingen from 2005 to 2006, SSV Reutlingen from 2006 to 2008, and 1. FC Nürnberg from 2008 to 2010. His senior career continued at Nürnberg, where he made 109 appearances between 2010 and 2014. On May 20, 2014, he signed his first contract with his current club, and he scored his first goal for Hertha on December 12, 2015, in a 4:0 away win over SV Darmstadt 98. Plattenhardt has also made 63 appearances for Germany’s U17, U18, U19, U20, U21, and senior squads since 2008.

By Rich

Taiwo Awoniyi scored the only goal of the match on Friday, lifting hosts 1. FC Union Berlin to a 1:0 victory over visitors 1. FC Köln. Awoniyi’s goal came in the match’s 49th minute, when Köln’s Jonas Hector made a loose back pass, which was then seized by Awoniyi, who swept the ball past Köln’s goalkeeper. This was the 7th time this season that Awoniyi put his team ahead 1:0, and Awoniyi’s 17 collective goals move him ahead of teammate Max Kruse as Union’s highest outright scorer in the league. Köln have never beaten Union in the Bundesliga, and now remain 1 point behind their hosts in the race to European qualification. 6 points continue to separate 1st-place FC Bayern München and 2nd-place Borussia Dortmund going into Saturday’s contests. Bayern will travel to red-hot Freiburg on Saturday, and it has been 6 games since Freiburg last lost in the league. Freiburg trainer Christian Streich has, however, overseen just 1 win in 18 meetings with Bayern, and 2 wins against clubs coached by Julian Nagelsmann. Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski has scored 20 goals in 19 games against Freiburg, including 6 in his last 7. Later on Saturday, Dortmund will host Leipzig in what is likely to be another fiercely contested match. Dortmund striker Erling Haaland is still a question mark on Saturday, having picked up an ankle injury in international competition. Marco Reus is set to make his 35oth appearance for Dortmund, having accumulated 153 goals and 108 assists in his 349 matches to date. Leipzig have lost just once so far in 2022, having turned their season around under coach Domenico Tedesco. The club are just 3 points behind Bayer Leverkusen’s 3rd-place spot, and are likely to secure a UEFA Champions League spot for next season. Two of the clubs at the other end of the table, and fighting to avoid relegation, will face daunting opponents on Saturday. Fürth, all but certain to return to the 2. Bundesliga next season, will travel to play against 9th-place Frankfurt, while Hertha will play against 3rd-place Leverkusen. Hertha’s newest coach, Felix Magath, managed to stop a 9-game winless streak with a 3:0 win over Hoffenheim on Matchday 27. Magath has, however, lost 15 of 29 Bundesliga meetings with Leverkusen. Looking ahead to Sunday, 2 clubs in the middle of the table will play what is likely to be a competitive match when Gladbach host Mainz. Gladbach are coming off back-to-back 2:0 victories, and are now enjoying a 7-point lead over the relegation playoff spot. Mainz are 4 points ahead of Gladbach and, with a game in hand, could climb as high as 7th place if they pick up all 3 points.