Champions League-chasing Borussia Monchengladbach will welcome Augsburg to Borussia Park on Saturday in their 23rd Bundesliga game of 2024-25.
Die Fohlen overcame Union Berlin 2-1 on February 15 and are currently in eighth place with 34 points, whereas Augsburg are 12th with 28 points but managed to hold RB Leipzig to a 0-0 stalemate on February 14.
Match preview
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Borussia Monchengladbach scored twice in the first 26 minutes against Union and were in truth deserving winners, creating four big chances while facing none outside of the penalty Union netted in the 63rd minute.
Boss Gerardo Seoane may be concerned that his team have regularly conceded goals this campaign, with the club keeping one clean sheet in their last 11, and their record of 32 goals conceded in the league makes them the third-worst defensive team in the top eight.
Victory on Saturday will be significant for their chances of European football considering they are only three points behind fourth-placed RB Leipzig, two behind fifth-placed Freiburg and one behind sixth-placed Mainz 05, who occupy the final Champions League, Europa League and Conference League spots respectively.
Die Fohlen are unbeaten in their last four games, winning three while scoring eight and conceding three goals in that time.
The hosts' form at home is also strong considering their only defeat in their nine most recent fixtures at Borussia Park was a 1-0 loss against Bayern Munich on January 11, whereas they won six and drew two of their other eight at home.
%20celebrates%20scoring%20for%20Augsburg%20on%20January%2015,%202025.jpeg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Alexis Claude-Maurice (No. 20) celebrates scoring for Augsburg on January 15, 2025")
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Opponents Augsburg only produced two shots on target and one big chance against Leipzig, while Die Roten Bullen were arguably unfortunate not to score given they created three big chances and generated 1.24 xG.
The visitors' draw was their second consecutive 0-0 stalemate, and though it was their fourth clean sheet in six matches, they have only found the back of the net once in their past four games.
Boss Jess Thorup's side did emerge as 2-1 victors against Borussia Monchengladbach in the reverse fixture on October 4, a game in which they limited Die Fohlen to just one big chance and extended their unbeaten streak against them to three games.
Die Fuggerstadter have earned three draws from their past four outings – losing the other match – but they did triumph in their prior three by a cumulative score of 6-1.
Thorup's team are also winless in their three most recent away games, drawing two and succumbing to defeat in one, and have in fact lost six and been held to a stalemate in four of their 14 matches on the road in 2024-25.
Team News
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Borussia Monchengladbach's injury list is fairly small, but they will be without goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas for the rest of the season, and that means Jonas Omlin is set to start just his fourth Bundesliga game of 2024-25 on Saturday.
Forward Franck Honorat has been ruled out because of a broken ankle, and that could mean Nathan N'Goumou, Kevin Stoger and Robin Hack will support striker Tim Kleindienst.
With regular Rocco Reitz not scheduled to return to the pitch until the middle of March, expect Philipp Sander and Julian Weigl to feature at the base of midfield.
Augsburg's injury list is more extensive, with defenders Mads Valentin Pedersen, Marius Wolf and Robert Gumny set to miss out.
Goalkeeper Finn Dahmen is likely to be stationed behind a back three consisting of Chrislain Matsima, Jeffrey Gouweleeuw and Cedric Zesiger.
Samuel Essende is a probable candidate to start up front considering forwards Mergim Berisha and Yusuf Kabadayi will not be in the XI.
Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Omlin; Scally, Itakura, Elvedi, Ullrich; Sander, Weigl; Ngoumou, Stoger, Hack; Kleindienst
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Dahmen; Matsima, Gouweleeuw, Zesiger; Koudossou, Jakic, Onyeka, Giannoulis; Claude-Maurice, Rexhbecaj; Essende
We say: Borussia Monchengladbach 2-0 Augsburg
While Borussia Monchengladbach's defensive record is not the strongest, their opponents have struggled in the final third.
Additionally, the hosts' form at home has been largely excellent, and it would not be surprising if they managed to get the best of Augsburg.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
