Form: European success
Borussia Mönchengladbach have made it through to the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time in 43 years, where they will be facing Manchester City. Back in the day when the competition was known as the European Cup, the five-time German champions were regulars at this stage of the competition in the 1970s.
Their most recent Bundesliga outing was a 1-1 draw at home to Hertha BSC – the same scoreline that they had already recorded against Union Berlin, Wolfsburg and Augsburg this season. Consequently, Gladbach are currently lagging slightly behind their own lofty expectations on the domestic front. “Ideally, we should have won a couple more home matches by now,” said sporting director Max Eberl, but his team currently sit on 17 points after 11 matches, keeping them well in touch with the European places.
| Borussia Mönchengladbach 2020/21 | |
|---|---|
| Stats | 4 wins, 5 draws, 2 defeats, 20:17 goal difference, 17 points, 8th in the table |
| Formkurve | L-D-W-D-D |
| Goalscorers | Stindl (4), Embolo (2) Hofmann (2), Neuhaus (2), Plea (2), Thuram (2), Wolf (2), Ginter (1), Lainer (1), Lazaro (1), Wendt (1) |
Tactics: Rotation to keep the squad fresh
With the matches coming thick and fast, coach Marco Rose has used no fewer than 20 outfield players and two goalkeepers thus far. The team tend to operate in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Eintracht likely to come up against Christoph Kramer and Denis Zakaria as the two defensive midfielders. Matthias Ginter and Nico Elvedi are the regular centre-back pairing, while Stefan Lainer is expected to return at right-back and Yann Sommer should be between the sticks, provided that he has recovered from a slight groin strain. If not, then Gladbach have a dependable back-up in Tobias Sippel, who wore the gloves last time out.
One to watch: Matthias Ginter
Germany international Ginter is arguably the most consistent player in the Gladbach ranks, having featured in every minute of their current Bundesliga campaign as a lynchpin at the back. The 26-year-old can always be counted on to perform his defensive duties as well as launching attacks, having made a name for himself with his long diagonal balls to the right wing that bypass the midfield and put his team on the front foot.
Ginter’s crucial role in the team certainly came to the fore last Wednesday in Madrid, when Real coach Zinédine Zidane instructed his players to make a high press on Ginter to force Gladbach to try to build their attacks through his fellow centre-back Elvedi instead.
