Borussia Monchengladbach will host Werder Bremen on Sunday at Borussia Park in their ninth Bundesliga game of the season, and they will hope to bounce back from their defeat last time out.
Die Fohlen are 11th in the top flight with 10 points and lost 2-1 against Eintracht Frankfurt in the second round of the DFB-Pokal on Wednesday, while the away side are ninth in the league with 12 points from eight games.
Match preview
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The hosts will be immensely disappointed that they were eliminated from the DFB-Pokal considering Eintracht Frankfurt were reduced to 10 men when Arthur Theate was sent off after just 15 minutes.
In their last league outing, Borussia Monchengladbach drew 1-1 with Mainz 05 on October 25, a match in which they created just 0.6 xG, almost three times less than the figure Mainz produced.
Boss Gerardo Seoane insisted that a draw was a fair result, but he will still be concerned that his side have conceded first in five of their last six Bundesliga games.
Seoane's team have scored 11 goals and conceded 13 times in the league so far this season, and this makes them the division's 14th best offensive and joint eighth-best defensive side.
Die Fohlen have drawn one and won one of their two most recent top-flight games, but they did lose three of the prior four league matches.
While Borussia Monchengladbach have won their last two Bundesliga games at home, they lost four and drew three of the previous seven contests at Borussia Park.
![Keke Topp of Werder Bremen cheers after the final whistle with match ball after the match against Energie Cottbus, on August 19, 2024 [on August 22, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/34/keke-topp.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Keke Topp of Werder Bremen cheers after the final whistle with match ball after the match against Energie Cottbus, on August 19, 2024 [on August 22, 2024]")
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Meanwhile, the Green-Whites advanced to the third round of the DFB-Pokal after beating Paderborn 1-0 on Wednesday, continuing their good form in all competitions.
Werder Bremen have won three, drawn one and lost just one of their last five matches and drew 2-2 against champions Bayer Leverkusen in their last league game on October 26.
Manager Ole Werner will have been delighted with the result against Xabi Alonso's Leverkusen considering his team had to come from behind twice, including in the 90th minute when Romano Schmid scored an equalising goal.
Werner's side have scored 11 goals in their five most recent games and have won six, drawn five and lost just two of their last 13 league matches.
Werder Bremen also boast an impressive away record given they have won their last three Bundesliga fixtures on the road, as well as drawing two and winning one of the previous three away games.
Team News
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Goalkeepers Jonas Omlin and Jan Olschowsky will not be available for selection for the hosts, so expect Moritz Nicolas to start between the posts.
Defenders Luca Netz and Nico Elvedi are likely to return in the middle of November, so Borussia Monchengladbach may field a back four of Stefan Lainer, Marvin Friedrich, Ko Itakura and Joseph Scally.
Midfielder Yvandro Borges Sanches is set to be out until the middle of December, and in his absence Rocco Reitz and Julian Weigl are almost certain to feature in a double pivot.
Werder Bremen will be without midfielder Jens Stage for a few more days at most, and Werner could select a double pivot of Leonardo Bittencourt and Senne Lynen on Sunday.
Winger Marco Grull is also a doubt and if the weekend's clash comes too soon for the forward, the visitors may start Oliver Burke and Romano Schmid behind striker Marvin Ducksch.
Julian Malatini, Marco Friedl and Anthony Jung are likely to start as centre-backs in front of goalkeeper Michael Zetterer.
Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Nicolas; Lainer, Friedrich, Itakura, Scally; Reitz, Weigl; Honorat, Plea, Hack; Kleindienst
Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:
Zetterer; Malatini, Friedl, Jung; Weiser, Bittencourt, Lynen, Agu; Burke, Schmid; Ducksch
We say: Borussia Monchengladbach 1-2 Werder Bremen
It is difficult to ignore Werder Bremen's strong goalscoring form of late, as well as their good showings on the road in recent weeks.
Despite winning their last two home games, Borussia Monchengladbach have struggled at Borussia Park, and it would not be surprising if they dropped points once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
