As they did to kick-off the season a number of months ago, Borussia Monchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund will begin the second-half of the Bundesliga campaign against each other when they clash at Borussia Park this weekend.
This clash can be seen as a pivotal battle in the race for the top four, as while Dortmund remain almost ensured of a European place, Gladbach must still fight for their after the horror start to the season they endured. After losing their first five matches, Die Fohlen have only lost one further, albeit a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen. However, their crowning moment was a defeat of Bayern Munich, a result which filled them with confidence as they sit in fourth spot.
For Dortmund, their chance to make ground on Bayern came when Gladbach inflicted the only defeat of the season so far to the Bavarians, yet they could not capitalise as they lost a few weeks later. Thomas Tuchel could hardly have asked for a better first season, however, with the side flying and striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang recently named African Player of the Year.
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Key Battle – Aubamayeng vs Andreas Christensen/Martin Hinteregger
If Gladbach’s defence takes shape as expected, it will feature a combined age of 42 among Andreas Christensen and Martin Hinteregger, against arguably the most dangerous forward in the league. 18 goals in 17 Bundesliga appearances has helped carry Dortmund to second place, and Aubamayeng will relish the chance to target an inexperienced defence.
While Dortmund’s attack is full of dangerous players, shutting down Aubameyang is the key to success for Gladbach in this match.
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Team News
With Granit Xhaka suspended following his brain explosion against Darmstadt, Harvard Nordtveit should move into midfield to suit up alongside Mahmoud Dahoud. Meanwhile, new singing Hinteregger could make his first start at centre-back.
Borussia Monchengladbach expected XI: Sommer; Korb, Christensen, Hinteregger, Wendt; Traore, Dahoud, Nordtveit, Johnson; Raffael, Stindl
Marcel Schmelzer and Erik Durm will both be out injured, meaning Joo-Ho Park will likely pick up a start at left-back. In a bigger worry, Shinji Kagawa is listed as doubtful for the clash so Gonzalo Castro may see a start in central midfield.
Borussia Dortmund expected XI: Burki; Piszczek, Sokratis, Hummels, Park; Gundogan, Weigl, Castro; Mhikitaryan, Aubameyang, Reus
Head-to-head
In 87 meetings between the two sides, the record could hardly be closer. Courtesy of Bundesliga.com, Die Fohlen have claimed 29 wins, Dortmund have gone home the victors on 30 occasions and 28 times the sides have been unable to be separated. Gladbach have scored 144 goals across those matches, one more than Dortmund’s total, to show just how close these two sides are across the years.
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Previous Meeting
These two sides met on the first match day of this Bundesliga season and it was a completely one-sided affair. Dortmund tore apart Gladbach’s defence under Lucien Favre in a brutal display, running out 4-0 winners to kick-off their campaign perfectly. Goals to Marco Reus, Aubameyang and a double to Henrik Mhikataryan ensured that Gladbach returned home with tails firmly between their legs.
Prediction
While the resurgence undertaken by the Foals after their initial five games cannot be ignored, their two heaviest losses this season came against teams who press high and attack the ball carrier – Leverkusen and Dortmund. The concession of nine goals conceded to none scored across those two matches paints an interesting picture, and Tohmas Tuchel will need to be wary of Dortmund’s speed in behind the defence in this match.
Dortmund should look to exploit the hole left by Granit Xhaka in midfield, as the main shield in front of Gladbach’s defence will be missing. Their post popular time for scoring goals has been in the middle period of the first-half, between the 16th and 30th minutes, so an early goal will be key for Dortmund. The previous match saw two in the early stages for BVB, and that finished 4-0, so expect the men in yellow to come out firing here and eventually win the game, even away from home.
Borussia Mochengladbach 1 Borussia Dortmund 3
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