As well as the vote for ‘Player of the Month’, the German football league (DFL) also carries out a vote for ‘Rookie of the Month‘. The conditions are that the player is young than 23 years old at the start of the season and has collected lots of points on Fantasy Manager, the DFL’s fantasy football game. Adam Hlozek (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) and Karim Adeyemi (Borussia Dortmund) complete the list alongside Engels.

If Inter Milan beat Viktoria Plzen at the San Siro on Wednesday, Barca are mathematically eliminated from the Champions League with no way to make a comeback. This is because of their inferior head-to-head record against the Nerazzurri, which is the first tiebreaker in case of a points-tie in the group stage. If Inter manage to lose or draw, Barca will still need a win vs Bayern at the Camp Nou to stay alive in the competition. Anything less will see them eliminated.

BVB boss Edin Terzic, who was born just 25 kilometres from Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park, began his scouting and coaching career at Borussia at just 27 years of age. After a successful stint at the helm during the 2020/21 campaign – which included victory in the DFB Cup final – he was reappointed as Dortmund’s head coach last summer.

 “Hugo needs regular game time at this point in his career, which we couldn’t guarantee him for the time being, given how intense the fight for places in the team is,” explained sporting director Klemens Hartenbach. “As a result, the loan move, back to his homeland in Belgium, makes sense and comes at the right time.”

It’s safe to say that Oliver Christensen and the rest of the squad are putting in the hard work at the training camp in Florida. Although the sessions are tough, the 23-year-old goalkeeper is in his element. It is clear to see that even after the World Cup and a long winter break, Christensen is ready to give his all in Andreas Menger’s arduous goalkeeping sessions. The number one also believes that the rest of the squad are of a similar mindset: “The conditions here are great. Everyone is fit, getting stuck in and we’re all happy to be together again as a group. That is what is required,” he explained.

It’s a glimmer of hope, a show of solidarity – and a demonstration of resilience. It’s proof of the immense strength – of those 80 girls and boys who hail from Lviv to Luhansk, and from Kiev to Odessa, but also of the entire Ukrainian people. The visit by the “School of Resilience”, a project of the Klitschko Foundation, to Heidelberg between 10 and 19 February sends a strong signal of togetherness. “The purpose of the trip was and is to offer new perspectives to the young people so that they can find new objectives for their future,” said Klitschko Foundation Director Angelina Osadcha. “They’re in a safe environment here, without sirens and bombs, without fear for their lives and safety.”

Head coach Marco Rose, goal scorer Emil Forsberg, captain Willi Orbán, Christopher Nkunku and Xaver Schlager react to the 3-0 win over Wolfsburg.

On Matchday 5, FSV Mainz 05 undertake one of their two back-to-back home games: the Zerofivers...

Bruno Labbadia on the home game against Werder Bremen at 15:30 CET on Sunday. Around 48,000 fans are expected to attend the Matchday 19 fixture.

On match day, the T-shirts will be available for €10 in sizes XS to 5XL at the Union-Zeughaus Bahnhofstraße, in the stadium grounds and at the Szene stand opposite the Abseitsfälle. Any remaining stock will then be made available in the Union-Zeughaus for €15.