“In a week with multiple fixtures, it’s all about the players themselves,” said Ole Werner ahead of the clash with Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sunday, 3rd November (17:30 CET). It will be his team’s third match in eight days, and SVW are looking to complete a hat-trick of good results after the draw against Leverkusen and the DFB-Pokal win over Paderborn. Here’s our match preview.
Squad update: Skelly Alvero (knee problems) and Marco Grüll (muscle injury) will miss out against Gladbach. Niklas Stark is back in the squad, “but is not an option for the starting eleven” according to Ole Werner at the press conference ahead of the game. The same goes for Jens Stage, who trained with the team again on Saturday.
Ole Werner on the opponents: “Gladbach have a good squad and are capable of creating chances in a different way to last season. They like to play good football, but their summer transfers have allowed them to threaten more from long balls and set pieces. It’s not easy to defend against Gladbach because they’re capable of posing a threat in various ways on the ball.”
Previous meetings: The head-to-head record between these teams in the Bundesliga is almost completely even. Borussia have won 41 of the 108 fixtures, while SVW have won 39. 28 ended in draws, including the last three matches between the sides, all of which finished 2-2. The last meeting in May of this year was a hard-fought encounter. Robin Hack gave the Foals the lead early on (8’), but Nick Woltemade’s brace turned the game around (45’, 65’). Florian Neuhaus though rescued a point for Gladbach in injury time (90+1’).
Ducksch making the difference: After a few games without a goal, Marvin Ducksch has now been able to perform his trademark celebration – hands by his head and his tongue out – in three successive matches. He has also found the net three times on his last two visits to BORUSSIA-PARK. He additionally netted a brace in the Green-Whites’ home game last season, as well as scoring a late equaliser in Mönchengladbach during the previous campaign.
