Situation: Chasing a European spot
It has not been an easy season for Borussia Mönchengladbach, who currently occupy eighth place on 40 points, and are still hopeful of qualifying for European competition. They are six points off fifth place and the UEFA Europa League spot, while the gap to sixth, which would mean qualification for the new UEFA Conference League, is just four points.
| Borussia Mönchengladbach 2020/21 | |
|---|---|
| Stats | 10 wins, 10 draws, 8 defeats, 48:43 goal difference, 40 points, 8th in the table |
| Form | L-L-W-W-D |
| Goalscorers | Stindl (12), Thuram (6) Hofmann (5), Neuhaus (5), Plea (4), Elvedi (3), Embolo (3), Lainer (2), Wolf (2), Bensebaini (1), Ginter (1), Lazaro (1), Wendt (1), Zakaria (1) |
Tactics: Strong from set pieces
Coach Marco Rose tends to set up his team in a 4-2-3-1 system, but is never afraid to change things in terms of tactics or personnel.
Their main strength at the moment is set-piece situations. The Foals, as they are known, have scored 19 of their 48 goals this season from dead balls – the most in the Bundesliga. Rose’s side have been unusually fragile at the back though, conceding 43 goals. With six matchdays left, that is already three more than they conceded in the whole of the previous campaign.
One to watch: Tobias Sippel
With first-choice goalkeeper Yann Sommer suspended following his red card against Hertha last weekend, Tobias Sippel will pull on the gloves for the visitors on Saturday, and the reliable number two has long been a trusted deputy at Gladbach.
The 1.80m 33-year-old made 221 competitive appearances for 1. FC Kaiserslautern, whom he joined as a youngster in 1998 before moving to Borussia in summer 2015. Sippel is well aware of his role in the squad, saying: “I’m fully behind Yann, but I don’t just see myself as a number two – we all see ourselves as part of a team”. In his nine Bundesliga appearances to date for Gladbach, the ‘keeper has conceded 13 goals and kept three clean sheets.
