Borussia Monchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt will both be aiming to move into the top four of the table when they face each other in the Bundesliga's Saturday night game.
Frankfurt head into the encounter one point and once place ahead of their forthcoming opponents in fifth position.
Match preview
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Despite enjoying a decent start to life under their new boss Daniel Farke, it has been a testing few days for the former Norwich City manager after being stunned 2-1 by second-tier side Darmstadt in the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday.
Farke picked a strong starting XI but a combination of complacency and a lack of urgency saw Darmstadt deservedly progress to the third round of Germany's domestic cup, as they managed to turn their 15 shots into two telling goals to claim a 2-1 victory.
After delighting their fans by thrashing rivals FC Koln 5-2 in their previous league game, Gladbach were held 2-2 away to Wolfsburg last weekend, with Marcus Thuram's brace cancelled out by strikes from Yannick Gerhardt and Omar Marmoush.
Overall, Die Fohlen are clearing moving on an upwards trajectory under the 45-year-old's tutelage, and they will sense a real opportunity to lay down a marker and move into the top four by beating Frankfurt on Saturday.
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Frankfurt, who are competing in the Champions League for the first time in their history this season, will certainly not make it easy for their opponents after enjoying a very positive week.
Die Adler thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 5-1 last weekend, with Daichi Kamada converting two penalties alongside Randal Kolo, Jesper Lindstrom and Lucas Alario all getting themselves on the scoresheet against Xabi Alonso's misfiring outfit.
Unlike their forthcoming opponents, Oliver Glasner's side avoided being on the wrong end of an upset in midweek, with Kolo and Hrvoje Smolcic settling any potential nerves away to Stuttgarter Kickers by giving their side a comfortable two-goal cushion after only 18 minutes.
While their chances of progressing to the Champions League knockout stages remain in the balance ahead of a crucial match against Marseille at Deutsche Bank Park on Wednesday, Glasner is juggling three competitions marvelously once again, with even avoiding defeat on Saturday potentially good enough to see them move third or fourth depending on results elsewhere.
Team News
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Gladbach suffered a major blow during the defeat against Darmstadt, with club captain Yann Sommer substituted due to an ankle issue.
It remains to be seen how serious the injury is, but the Switzerland stopper is unlikely to recover in time for Saturday, meaning that Tobias Sippel will have to deputise between the posts.
Farke's options were already hugely minimised by injuries to Ko Itakura, Mamadou Doucoure, Florian Neuhaus, Hannes Wolf, Jonas Hofmann and Christoph Kramer, but he can at least count on the in-form Thuram to pose a constant threat in attack.
Frankfurt, meanwhile, will travel without Aurelio Buta, Makoto Hasebe, Ansgar Knauff and Jerome Onguene due to injury, but otherwise Glasner appears to be in a much healthier position than his counterpart in terms of available numbers.
Kamada should return to the starting XI after only being used from the bench in midweek, with Luca Pellegrini making his return from injury during the win in Stuttgart.
Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Sippel; Scally, Friedrich, Elvedi, Bensebaini; Weigl, Kone; Herrmann, Stindl, Plea; Thuram
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Tuta, Jakic, Ndicka; Ebimbe, Kamada, Sow, Lenz; Lindstrom, Gotze; Kolo
We say: Borussia Monchengladbach 2-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
We can envisage plenty of goals flying in at Borussia Park on Saturday, with both teams stronger in attack than defence.
Although Gladbach are significantly weakened by the amount of injuries that they have to some key players, we believe that they still have enough about them to get a point against Frankfurt.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Brett Curtis
