Lucien Favre has watched his Borussia Monchengladbach team suffer three straight defeats to open the 2015-16 season, the worst of which a 4-0 hammering to Borussia Dortmund on the opening day. After a weekend off for European qualification matches, which featured many of Die Fohlen’s talents, domestic play will resume this weekend against Hamburg in the Friday Night fixture.
The coach will be looking for a quick rebound from the first break of the new season. Outside90’s David Jordan looks at the Monchengladbach players who appeared for their national sides.
New striker Josip Drmic was a starter in both of Switzerland’s qualifying matches, including their breathtaking comeback win over Slovenia and a 2-0 Wembley loss to England. The 22-year old scored a brace against the Slovaks, including the winner in stoppage time to maintain their run to qualification for the Euro 2016 tournament.
Midfielder Granit Xhaka also played well in both games for the Swiss, but spoiled his performance against the Three Lions by giving away a penalty late in the game for bringing down Raheem Sterling. Xhaka will miss this weekend’s match against Hamburg anyway – suspended after his sending-off against Werder Bremen in their most recent Bundesliga loss.
Yann Sommer played in-between the posts for Switzerland and also performed admirbly, nearly saving Wayne Rooney’s penalty in the Wembley match, a goal that took the striker to the top of England’s all time scorers list. Sommer has played well behind a poor Gladbach defence so far this season, and needs his back four to lift if the side is to move off the bottom of the table.
Defender Oscar Wendt sat on the sidelines as an unused substitute for Sweden’s two defeats at the hands of Russia and Austria, but will hope to return to starting duties this week against Hamburg in the league. Meanwhile, Harvard Nordtveit came off the bench for Norway in their 2-0 win over Croatia.
With their league form having suffered substantially so far, Favre will be hoping that a change up in competition will be able to provide the necessary shakeup his team needs, ahead of their return to Bundesliga action.
A win this weekend would drag Gladbach level on points with Hamburg, on three, but they would still sit firmly in the bottom-half of the table – far from the start that the fans and the coach had envisioned for this season. Another defeat, or even a draw, will add scrutiny to the team and their setup, especially ahead of the start of European competition in a week’s time.
The slide from their brilliant third placed finish last campaign has been quick and painful, even though many will say it is too early to judge. No points from three games is a poor return in anyone’s book, especially considering that in 2014-15, the side did not suffer a league defeat until matchday 11 of the Bundesliga. Their defeats so far represent half of their six total defeats last season, a worrying increase for such an early stage.
With Drmic playing well for Switzerland, Favre may feel incline to start him in this match, however, he must implore his midfielders to create the opportunities for him, rather than relying on an arguable poacher to create it all. The result of this game will undoubtedly have an effect on morale heading into their European tie against Sevilla, who will be very far from pushovers.
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