Sebastian Polter will leave VfL Bochum 1848 before his contract expires and move to FC Schalke...

Due to groin problems that have troubled him since the end of last season, Daniel Caligiuri has had to train individually during the pre-season. Now, the German-Italian midfielder is back with the team on the pitch. The 31-year-old spoke to schalke04.de about making his return against FC Bologna, how the opening goal came about and the hectic closing stages.

Lukas Petkov, who has been with the Fuggerstädter since the age of eight, has made eight competitive appearances for Augsburg so far this season. He has also built on the impressive form he showed last term during his loan spell at third division side SC Verl, when he scored eleven goals and picked up five assists in 37 appearances.

The recent rumors linking Bayern Munich to Atlético Madrid star João Félix were rubbished by Sky’s Marc Behrenbeck. Behrenbeck is reporting that Félix’s name was, indeed, tossed around last summer, but that the club will not be considering the attacker moving forward.

It’s likely that Sporting coach Rúben Filipe Marques Amorim will send out his team in a 3-4-3 formation. That’s the standard formation under the 37-year-old, which also led to a 3-0 success over Frankfurt in the reverse fixture.

In contrast to the 1-1 draw against Bayer 04, Streich and co. decided to set up with a back three. Captain Christian Günter returned to the side following his yellow-card suspension, alongside Roland Sallai. Michael Gregoritsch did not make the trip to Borussia-Park – the striker was ill. Also under the weather was Ritsu Doan, who was forced off due to his illness against Leverkusen. He was named on the bench for his fixture.

Christmas, a time of peace and goodwill, is also always a good time to take a deep breath and reflect. Our president is among those taking a look back at the past year and wants you to join him in doing so.

RBL head coach Marco Rose ahead of the Bundesliga game against Eintracht Frankfurt

1. FSV Mainz 05 have taken seven points from their first three games this season, as they prepare to host Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Saturday afternoon (15:30 CEST). The Champions League participants are still without a point in 2022/23, but head coach Bo Svensson doesn’t see his side automatically slipping into the role of the favourites this weekend. “Their games so far this season have been very different,” he explained during the pre-match press conference. “They should have won both in Dortmund [1-0 loss] and against Augsburg [2-1]. They have top-quality players and we will need to deliver a top performance in order to keep up,” Svensson said.