The Germany U21s will take advantage of the fact that they too are headed to Belfast early next week. After Julian Nagelsmann’s senior team squares off against the Northern Irish in a crucial World Cup qualifier at Windsor Park on Monday, the two U21 teams will kick off on the Eastern banks of the Lagan at the Oval on Tuesday. 

After contesting their first UEFA U21 European Championship qualifier of the international break against the Greek U21s in Jena on Friday evening, Di Salvo’s charges will travel to the Isle over the weekend to link up with Nagelsmann’s crew. Kömür expressed some enthusiasm for the coming “DFB Field Trip” at a Wednesday press event. 

Kömür was nevertheless sure to temper his expectations. While the 20-year-old remains in absolute red-hot form for club,there remains many tough tests to conquer in his young career. Moreover, in modern football, the U21s aren’t exactly the stepping stone to they used to be.

Deep scoutings enables many players to leapfrog the U21 level. There are also legions of players who build long careers with the U21s, but are never seriously considered for the senior team level for various reasons. 

Di Salvo bid farewell to plenty such players after the summer U21 Euros; talented footballers who will likely never represent their country again. Players such as Eric Martel, Ansgar Knauff, Jan Thielmann, and Jamil Siebert simply aren’t senior team material. 

Kömür can still take solace in the fact that Nick Woltemade (18 U21 caps), Nico Schlotterbeck (13 U21 caps) Jamie Leweling (11 U21 caps), and Waldemar Anton (11 Caps) did ultimately work their way up. Karim Adeyemi also proved an enormous U21 success story last autumn. 

There’s also German phenom Florian Wirtz, who once sat out the 2021 Euros in order to contest the 2021 UEFA European Championship under Stefan Kuntz. Wirtz – together with recent German senior team returnee Ridle Baku – helped Kuntz’s side capture the continental championship that year. 

“It’s technically not a big step from the U-21s to the senior national team,” Kömür said on Tuesday. “Of course, it’s a big step in sporting terms. We’ve seen in the past that it can happen quickly.

“It’ll be fun to see Finn Dahmen,” Kömür said of the link up. “In terms of my playing style, Florian Wirtz is my idol. I always enjoyed watching him at Leverkusen and also enjoyed playing against him.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

When it comes to Kömür and Banks, not to mention the game’s third goalscorer – German “late bloomer” talent Robin Fellhauer – things are beginning to get a bit vulgar. Weber noted that Banks’ ability to remain calm in his first Bundesliga start of the new season left him with the impression that the 18-year-old “hat Eiswürfel gepinkelt“.

Naturally, one can infer from the literal translation of this obscure German idiom that Weber did not really mean to suggest that Banks “pissed iced cubes“. A translation of the phrase with some minimal creative license can easily be accomplished. Weber meant to say that Banks “had ice running through his veins” or “kept cool as a cucumber“.

In any event, the excitement over Banks is great. The FCA academy man was not called up to the USMNT for the current October international break, instead remaining with the team to contest a friendly against Ulm. Augsburg head coach Sandro Wagner tested Banks out as a right back. The Honolulu-native performed well. It may not be long until Banks displaces some of the more experienced Augsburg defenders.“

“Banks was totally cool,” Weber is quoted as saying in a Sport Bild article. “It’s obviously world class for us at the club when two players who come from our own youth academy score goals. That’s what everyone wants to see here, and we will continue to encourage and push that as much as we can.“

“He has quite a few experienced centre backs ahead of him,” Wagner added of Banks in a Kicker piece. “He didn’t have it easy in the first few weeks. He’s a positive person who, at 18, still has work to do, of course.“

“It was an extremely special afternoon for me,” Banks himself is quoted as saying in both the Kicker and Sport Bildarticles. “My whole family was there [at the WWK Arena], even my grandmother for the first time. I was extremely happy for Mert – almost more than for myself. He’s one of my best friends and the fact that we both scored is just incredible.”

Wagner has already noted that Mert Kömür happens to be one of the most talented players he’s ever coached. That means quite a bit coming from Julian Nagelsmann’s former senior men’s national team assistant. With respect to Fellhauer, Wagner maintains endless respect for the 27-year-old summer signing who battled back from a major concussion and has played four different positions this season. 

Fellhauer got a bit vulgar when celebrating team’s revival 

“You can’t win a Bundesliga game when you play like we did in the last two matches,” Fellhauer is quoted by Kicker as saying. “We felt like we’d totally shit our pants. Fortunately, we responded. I did my job creating danger in the box. The goal makes it almost perfect. It was an explosion of emotion.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

The 23-year-old’s €22m estimated market value (last updated in early June 2025) is sure to continue to rise. Matsima has already started all seven competitive fixtures under new FCA head coach Sandro Wagner and logged maximum minutes. Along the way, Matsima has scored one goal and pocketed two assists. 

It remains far too early to assess whether Germany’s Fuggerstädter would be interested in selling Matsima next summer, but Sport Bild claims that some interested parties are emerging. A small market club such as Augsburg most likely wouldn’t say no to a record offer of €30m or more. 

It’s even possibly that offers for Matsima could be entertained in the January transfer window. The FCA squad features plenty of experienced centre-backs in the form of captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw, Matsima’s former partner Cedric Zesiger, and German veteran Keven Schlotterbeck. 

Young USMNT international Noahkai Banks also scored his first Bundesliga goal in his first start in central defense of the current season. The 18-year-old Banks has already started for the FCA senior team on three occasions.

GGFN | Peter Weis

Hamburg Make Mince Meat of Mainz 

Hamburg made it back-to-back home wins as they battered Mainz 05 4-0 on Sunday afternoon. HSV were on top from the first minute and found themselves 2-0 up after just nine minutes thanks to goals from Albert Sambi Lokonga and Rayan Philippe. Philippe would add to his first goal in the second half, bringing his tally for the season to three goals from six games. The forward had a failed move to Mainz in the summer and mocked the situation with his celebration by mimicking a phone call. 

HSV head coach Merlin Polzin opted for a new 3-4-3 formation, and it worked a treat against a side that was so successful last campaign. 

“We’re progressing and one can see that in our play with the ball and against the ball. We’ve more steps to take, but one senses – and this is vitally important – that the team is finding out who they are and the connections are getting better. The players need to feel it on the pitch,” explained Polzin. 

HSV move up to 9th in the Bundesliga, whilst Mainz drop to 16th. 

Bayern Breeze Past Frankfurt

Ahead of this one, it was billed as Bayern’s first big test this season. However, when Bayern went 0-1 up after 17 seconds through Luis Díaz, it was anything but a real test. 

Bayern once again dominated and showed just how powerful their forward line is this season. Vincent Kompany’s side went 0-2 before the break through a Harry Kane curled effort from 20 meters out. If you haven’t seen the goal already, I urge you to take a look. 

Diaz added to his first-half goal late into the second half to make sure that Bayern go six wins from six games in the Bundesliga. 

“I don’t think these games should be used as a yardstick to evaluate the boys right now,” Toppmöller insisted when conducting a post-match interview with Sky Germany after the match. “It’s important for us to know that we still have a little room for improvement in order to compete at this level.”

“No one has been able to keep up with Bayern at their level thus far [this year],” Toppmöller continued, adding special praise for Harry Kane’s distance effort that made it 0-2 in the 27th minute. “That was a typical Bayern goal and Harry Kane’s finish was simply world-class.”

For Frankfurt, it’s now 12 goals conceded in four games in all competitions. There’s no question that Frankfurt have an excellent team, but right now, their defensive displays will be worrying head coach Dino Toppmöller. Bayern stay top as Frankfurt drop out of the European places for the first time this season (7th).  

Dortmund Leipzig Stalemate 

Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig played a rather dull 1-1 draw that was billed as “the battle of the Bayern chasers”. In fact, the final xG stats (Dortmund 0.88, Leipzig 1.05) illustrate that the final scoreline was even a little generous. 

Dortmund remain undefeated this season ahead of their showdown with Bayern after the international break. Leipzig, meanwhile, continue their undefeated run since being battered by Bayern on opening night. 

In truth, both teams will probably be satisfied with the draw as Dortmund and Leipzig stay 2nd and 3rd, respectively. 

Around The Grounds

Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, FC Heidenheim still remains bottom following a 1-0 loss to VfB Stuttgart. The Swabians scored the winner just past the hour mark from time to add even more misery on Frank Schmidt’s side. Heidenheim stay bottom, whilst Stuttgart shoot up into 4th. 

Bayer Leverkusen have put their early-season woes behind them as they go 5th with a 2-0 win against Union Berlin. It’s the first time that B04 has registered back-to-back Bundesliga wins this season as new head coach Kasper Hjulmand looks to be making a positive impact on his squad. 

Borussia Mönchengladbach still remain winless going into the international break after a 0-0 draw against SC Freiburg. Despite that and amid all the administrative turmoil at Borussia Mönchengladbach, interim head coach Eugen Polanski has been given the green light to continue his audition on the sidelines.

There were also wins for FC Köln (0-1 vs TSG Hoffenheim), Werder Bremen (1-0 vs St. Pauli), and FC Augsburg (3-1 vs VfL Wolfsburg). 

GGFN | Jamie Allen

Five personnel changes from last week’s away loss at Heidenheim ensured that the Fuggerstädter were able to commemorate their first home victory of the season. Two of Wagner’s new additions to the starting XI – Noahkai Banks and Mert Kömür – immediately combined for the opening goal inside of three minutes. Kömür would score the 2-0 in the 51st. 

Wagner who had promised wholesale changes and an energetic team “eager to play football” at his pre-match press conference, had high words of praise for most all of his players in his post-match interview with DAZN. Fellhauer – who has had quite the impact as a multi-position player who exemplifies the team’s fighting spirit – drew special praise from Wagner after another special performance at a novel position.

“We’ll have to talk to our finance manager about [giving him a positional flexibility bonus],” Wagner said of the former Elversberg captain, who featured as a right-slanted midfielder this time. “In any case, it’s an incredible transfer. He’s also a role model for us in a way, because he accepts everything and is enthusiastic. [Fellhauer embodies] the FCA player I envision.“

“I took some risks with the starters,” Wagner said of Banks and Kömür “Fortunately, our ‘power pups’ can run. The fact that our two home-grown players justified their selection made it a successful afternoon for the team and club. There were a lot of great stories.”

“The sound of the full-time whistle felt really good,” Wagner remarked in general. “I like how we got into the game and were really nasty against the ball. Our previous issues were resolved today. I told the players not to worry too much and just enjoy themselves. I’m the one under pressure.

On the topic of what Wagner did after the full-time whistle, the embattled FCA head coach did make something of an odd gesture to the crowd once the result was confirmed. It began as something discernible enough: a thumb, index, middle finger raised to signify “three points” in the German fashion.

Wagner then included his pinky finger for no apparent reason. 

Was there something behind it? 

Probably not. 

Wagner still wished to preserve the mystery. 

“It definitely wasn’t anything bad,” Wagner said “People can talk and I like that sort of thing. It doesn’t bother me.”

GGFN | Peter Weis

Saturday afternoon saw the turn of Augsburg vs Wolfsburg, Bayer Leverkusen hosting Union Berlin, St.Pauli travelling to Werder Bremen, and the standout game of the afternoon being Borussia Dortmund vs RB Leipzig. 

Here are the three things we learnt:

Borussia Dortmund struggle in their first big Bundesliga test:

Dortmund went down early on against RB Leipzig thanks to a Christoph Baumgartner opener, but they were able to rally and equalise through Yan Couto. However, apart from that, die Schwarzgelben struggled to impose themselves on the visitors. 

Via FotMob, Dortmund failed to register a big chance against Leipzig, and it looked as if their attacks struggled to get into the game, compared to the likes of Johan Bakayoko, Yan Diomande and Romulo for Leipzig. This could have potentially been the type of game to bring Carney Chukwuemeka on for, but instead, he remained on the bench. 

Simply put, Leipzig were just the better side on both the defensive and attacking ends. This could be because they did not have a midweek game, while Dortmund played Athletic Club. 

Dortmund can’t afford to get hung up on this result for too long, as after the international break, they face Bayern Munich. Considering that the Bavarians could go four points clear of them following today’s result, it will be a game they have to bring their best. 

However, as things stand, Dortmund will look like the only side that can come close to challenging Bayern this season. 

Bayer Leverkusen’s young attackers shine:

The wealth of attacking quality at Leverkusen’s disposal had failed to make their mark in the opening games of the season, but against Union Berlin, a rather unexpected pair took centre stage. 

Both Ernest Poku and Christian Kofane were the standouts for Leverkusen this afternoon. The former used his pace to help die Werkself counter Union, while Kofane was sharp enough to latch on to a Fredrick Ronnow mistake to score his first Bundesliga goal for the club. 

This was much needed for Levekrusen, as for much of the early stages of the season, they had to rely on Alejandro Grimaldo. The likes of Malik Tillman, Eliesse ben Seghir and Claudio Echeverri will still need to show their quality in the coming weeks. 

Kofane will be especially important in the absence of Patrik Schick, as there is no other recognised striker in the squad. 

The international break has come at the right time for Leverkusen. They currently sit fourth in the Bundesliga, but can now use the next two weeks to adjust to Kasper Hjulmand, as this will be the first extended period the Dane has with the team. After the international break, they face Mainz, and that should present a different-looking Leverkusen. 

Augsburg put some doubts to rest:

Heading into their game against Wolfsburg, Augsburg had not won a Bundesliga game since the opening day against Freiburg. This resulted in doubts starting to surface about head coach Sandro Wagner, but those were laid to rest today. 

Against the Autostadt side, Augsburg put in a commanding display winning 3-1, with Mert Kömur the standout player. The performance was reminiscent of their win against Freiburg in terms of the fact that they were clinical when it came to their finishing. There is still yet to be a clear sign of a style of play, but that will likely come with more time.

On Kömur, the 20-year-old was called up to the Germany under-21 national team. Considering he can also qualify for Turkey, the DFB must make sure they don’t experience the same fate they did with Can Uzun and Kenan Yildiz, and give Turkey their front three for the next generation. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan

Historic Harry 

Harry Kane scored a brace on Friday evening as Bayern Munich comfortably brushed aside Werder Bremen to truly kick off the Oktoberfest season. While Bayern are enjoying their best start to a Bundesliga campaign since 2016, Harry Kane also wrote his name into history once again. 

The Englishman’s two goals brought his overall Bayern tally to 100 in just 104 games. He is now the quickest player to register 100 goals for a club in Europe’s top five leagues. He surpasses both Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) and Erling Haaland (Manchester City), who both achieved 100 goals in 105 games. With 10 Bundesliga goals already this season, Kane appears to be in the form of his life as Bayern go marching on. 

The game against Bremen also saw Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka make their 300th Bundesliga appearance, whilst youngster Tom Bischof was granted his first start for Bayern. 

Bayern are now eight wins from eight in the Bundesliga and face Eintracht Frankfurt away in matchday 6. 

The 10-Goal Game 

Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Eintracht Frankfurt may just have hosted the most bizarre and entertaining game of the season as they played out a cracking (and at times hilarious) 4-6. 

Gladbach are yet to win this season, have sacked their head coach, and have been woeful at defending so far. When the halftime whistle blew and Frankfurt were 5-0 up, you feared that the Eagles could easily make it double-figures. Frankfurt immediately made it 0-6 within two minutes of the restart, leaving the Gladbach fans who had stayed in the ground possibly regretting that decision. 

Interim Gladbach coach Eugen Polanski looked dumbfounded as he witnessed the lack of defending. For a top-flight side, it was shambolic. 

However, what transpired almost saved Polanski’s blushes and possibly gives him the most credit at full-time. Gladbach and Frankfurt seemingly reserved roles as the home side went on to score four second-half goals whilst the away side took the role of not defending. 

“During the game I was in shock,” Polanski answered when a reporter asked him what words he found for the team at the half. “It was my job at the half to tell the team that things could be different. After that lifeless first half that doesn’t work at Bundesliga level, it got a little loud at the break.” 

“That was a desolate performance by the team,” BMG sporting director Roland Virkus told Sky Germany. “We lacked everything you need in football and were rightly 0-5 down at half-time. It must be said that the team made progress after the break, but one can’t sugarcoat a game like this. [Interim head coach] Eugen [Polanski] retains our support, but we all have to take a look at this together.“

Gladbach remain winless, and bizarrely, Frankfurt have conceded eight goals in two games.

Dortmund Dominance 

Borussia Dortmund continued their unbeaten start to the season with an impressive 0-2 win away at Mainz 05. 

With the win, BVB stay second, are looking like the early contenders to Bayern, and even set a new Bundesliga record. 

Niko Kovač’s side were in the lead at half-time for the 10th league game in a row – a new milestone in Germany’s top flight.

Daniel Svensson opened the scoring for Borussia Dortmund, netting his second Bundesliga goal for his new club after capping off a fine counter-attack after Mainz’ Paul Nebel hit Gregor Kobel’s post at the other end. Karim Adeyemi then doubled Dortmund’s lead in the 40th minute after another superb counter-attack, giving BVB a 0-2 lead.

Speaking after the game, Kovač commended his team’s performance: “The team played very disciplined and organised for 90 minutes. We scored the goals at the right time and were a bit lucky with the shot that hit the post, which led us to score our first goal right afterwards. I saw a team today that finished the game the way we should on the road. We didn’t concede anything else – or at least very little. So I’m very happy and proud of the boys that they rewarded themselves with this performance.”

Around The Grounds

Union Berlin and Hamburg played out a 0-0 draw, but the main story came from the stands. Union fans were protesting the pre-match deployment of the federal police against supporters of the Berlin club. HSV fans were also protesting the late kick-off on Sunday evening, having made the two-hour train journey to the capital. Banners expressed that the late kick-off should only be reserved for those competing in European competitions. Given the notorious Deutsche Bahn delays, the protests seem justified.

FC Heidenheim secured their first win of the season as they beat FC Augsburg 2-1. FCA drop to 16th as the pressure mounts on head coach Sandro Wagner. 

Elsewhere, there were wins for Bayer Leverkusen (1-2 vs St. Pauli), RB Leipzig (0-1 vs VfL Wolfsburg), and VfB Stuttgart (1-2 vs FC Köln). SC Freiburg and TSG Hoffenheim played out a 1-1 draw. 

GGFN | Jamie Allen

The tension spilled over into the stands and a Heidenheim supporter eventually strode onto the pitch. The FCH fan suffered a serious injury and was rendered unconscious. Post-match victory celebrations in front of the home FanKurve following Heidenheim’s 2-1 win were cancelled as club medical staff attended to the stricken supporter. Eventually, a helicopter had to airlift the fan to the hospital.

Both clubs also agreed to cancel the post-match press conference. This meant that there would be no discussion of a series of highly interesting talking points emerging from the match. Heidenheim secured their first win of the season behind goals from Mikkel Kaufmann and Sirlord Conteh. Recently promoted FCH younger Adam Kölle nearly scored for the second consecutive week off the bench. 

Augsburg head coach Sandro Wagner – under serious fire after heading into the weekend on three straight losses – did not have to explain his fourth straight defeat, or another Bundesliga match that ended with a hospitalization, to anyone. Heidenheim head coach Frank Schmidt spoke briefly about the match to Sky Germany before heading to the ultimately cancelled presser. 

“Football is important, but not the most important thing in life,” Schmidt told Sky. “We’re not by the tabloid press here. I don’t know if the fan is okay and I don’t know why the fans rushed onto the pitch. Perhaps they saw that a friend of theirs was fighting for their lives. Emotions were running high. I’m glad that we were able to intervene and prevent worse.

“It’s difficult for me to think about the result right now,” Schmidt responded when asked about the game. “We had to win in order to avoid slipping down the table. That doesn’t mean that we’re now out of the woods after this victory, but our confidence is greater. We put in a great performance and the team fought hard. The game was great, but I’ve got other things on my mind right now.“

Sitting between the two head coaches, the Heidenheim press officer revealed that there would be no sporting comments from either leader. Wagner merely wished the young man and his family all the best. Schmidt reiterated his points from earlier and thanked Wagner and the Augsburg players for also de-escalating matters. 

“When a helicopter lands in the stadium, one can imagine that it’s not a minor incident,” Schmidt remarked in his final words before the press officer adjourned matters for the day. “It’s something serious.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

Heidenheim and Augsburg are the only two Bundesliga clubs to have suffered two defeats through four matchdays in the young 2025/26 campaign. Early as it may be, the match counts as a critical encounter in the relegation race. Wagner must find some way of shaking his team out of this form slide. The newly re-branded “Roman Fuggerstädter“ won’t get a better opportunity to snatch three vital points. 

Wagner conducted his regular club press conference on Thursday, yet also made time to talk to Sky Germany. The popular former player and Julian Nagelsmann DFB assistant made clear that he knew full well that all German eyes were on him. No top flight head coach presently finds himself under greater pressure. 

“I’ve been in the public eye for a few years now, but it’s a different ballgame as a Bundesliga coach,” Wagner – as quoted by transfermarkt.de – told Sky. “I feel a lot of pressure, but I’ve felt that since Day One. Since I knew that beforehand, it really doesn’t bother me. I can handle it well. It’s a totally cool and amazing job. Doing my job well is the only thing that drives me.“

“I know it sounds silly,” Wagner added at the Thursday press conference. “but I really enjoyed [reviewing the Mainz game] this week. I learned a lot as a coach. We’re coming off the best training week we’ve had [since I arrived here]. Many of the veteran players here have told me, it’s nothing special to have lost three matches here at Augsburg. We’ve been on stretches during which we’ve lost five or six matches.

“For me personally, it comes down to either winning or learning,” Wagner continued. “I don’t like losing. I take it hard, but one can spin it a different way. My personal resumé is [Wagner made a hand gesture indicating that it contained a small sample size]. I’ve only had two coaching appointments. I’ve learned a lot from defeats at SpVgg Unterhaching and at the German national team from defeats. 

“Basically,” Wagner concluded. “The first thing my resumé needs is to be a resumé in the first place.“

Wagner took a lot of heat in the German press after last weekend’s defeat. On Germany’s famed Sunday “Doppelpass” footballing roundtable program, there was a huge debate as to whether Wagner should have been placed in charge of a Bundesliga club. In a Kicker Editorial published on Thursday legendary German football head coach Friedhelm Funkel expressed serious doubts that the situation would improve. 

For Funkel, Wagner’s downfall began on the second matchday. Augsburg dropped a seemingly close match to record champions Bayern Munich 2-3, yet weren’t really on the Bayern level. Funkel felt that Wagner was too aggressive and prideful in his post-match comments. The subsequent losses to St. Pauli and Mainz have now lead to a predictable downward spiral. Funkel also topped a Heidenheim win this weekend. 

“What I’ve seen from FC Augsburg so far makes me doubt the team,” Funkel wrote. “Conceding goals to a shorthanded opponent and losing heavily does something to a team; it makes them doubt themselves. Augsburg does not have the chance to climb up the table. I thought what Sandro did [after the Bayern Munich match that kicked off the losing streak] was dangerous.

“Don’t get me wrong, I like Sandro,” Funkel continued. “He’s done well in previous coaching jobs, but that bears no relation to a Bundesliga appointment. Augsburg were not on par with Bayern and they were lucky the German record champions didn’t seal the deal earlier. He needs to learn that be boastful is dangerous. Spreading optimism is part of the job, but one should always add a generous dose of humility.“

For his part, Wagner did try to convey some humility at the press conference. It nevertheless came out via an off-centre tone. Wagner’s speeches continue to be circuitous, long-winded, and full of odd attempts at self-deprecation mixed with bursts of confidence. When Wagner attempted to express respect for long-serving Heidenheim head coach Frank Schmidt, for example, Wagner struggled for coherence. 

“He’s a legend and a coach I look up to,” Wagner said of Schmidt. “He’s been doing this for a long time and I already have dark circles under my eyes after four Bundesliga matches. I’m looking forward to going to Heidenheim. It’s small, cool, and fierce. I’m just looking forward to it.”

GGFN | Peter Weis

Gouweleeuw saw his captaincy (once forfeited to current VfB Stuttgart striker Ermedin Demirovic) restored to him ahead of last season. The Dutchman became a mainstay in Jess Thorup’s squad over the course of the 2024/25 campaign, featuring in 33 of Augsburg’s 34 league fixtures and three of the team’s four Pokal matches. Gouweleeuw went the full 90 minutes on all but one occasion. 

Like the Mainz counterpart who ultimately undid his team in the Bundesliga last weekend, Gouweleeuw counts as an absolute “iron man” amongst his peers. The veteran’s importance to the team was underscored by a lucrative contract extension signed this past February. Prior to last Saturday’s 67th-minute subbing off, Gouweleeuw had once again logged maximum minutes through four competitive fixtures. 

The news need not be devastating as FCA head coach Sandro Wagner does have plenty of quality central defenders available to serve in his back-three. Assuming both Keven Schlotterbeck and Cedric Zesiger can remain fit ahead of the match, the duo can serve alongside Chrislain Matsima. Young American  international Noahkai Banks – who has featured surprisingly little this season – may also get a shot. 

GGFN | Peter Weis