On Friday, Borussia Mönchengladbach play Borussia Dortmund in their final game of the year. Gladbach currently find themselves midtable in ninth whilst Dortmund sit sixth – both teams are coming off of losses in midweek.
Gladbach travelled to Bochum on Tuesday and lost 2-1 at the Ruhrstadion. Bochum were 2-0 up very quickly with Christopher Antwi-Adjej opening the scoring in the seventh minute before Philipp Hofmann pounced on a Nico Elvedi mistake to double Bochum’s lead. In the second half, Gladbach were able to grab a goal back from Alassane Plea before in the 83rd minute Gladbach had a goal disallowed for offside in the build-up. The reason for the offside was questionable with the replay showing that a Bochum player had played the ball to Jonas Hofmann who crossed the ball for Ramy Bensebaini’s header. This once again showed why the effectiveness of VAR is declining in Germany and has become a big talking point as of late.
Dortmund also played on Tuesday as they faced a resurging Wolfsburg team. Dortmund conceded early on from a Micky van de Ven header before proving to be poor in front of goal as they wasted several chances and really highlighted how they took two steps forward with the previous weeks performances before taking a step back. Lukas Nmecha scored in the 91st minute to make it two for Wolfsburg.
Both teams will want to go into the break with a win. Gladbach have been in poor form as of late losing four of their last five in all competitions and have a looked a shadow of the team they had been earlier on in the season, which has not helped with the injury crisis they have faced. A win for Gladbach would close the gap between them and the European places. For Dortmund, a win would see them potentially move them into the top four and set them up nicely to take advantage of this position when they return in January.
Last season saw both teams win their home games. In the first meeting, Gladbach won 1-0 with a goal from Denis Zakaria. Then in the return leg between the two, Dortmund thrashed Gladbach 6-0 in a game which saw Marco Reus finish with three assists and two goals against his former team.
Predicted Lineups:
Borussia Mönchengladbach:
Olschowsky – Scally, Friedrich, Elvedi, Bensebaini – Weigl, Koné – Hofmann, Kramer, Stindl – Thuram
Borussia Dortmund:
Kobel – Süle, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro – Özcan, Bellingham – Reyna, Brandt, Malen – Moukoko
GGFN | Jack Meenan
