Borussia Monchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund will both be looking to bounce back from a midweek defeat when they face off at Borussia-Park on Friday night.
The battle of the Borussias kicks off the final round of Bundesliga fixtures before the World Cup break – and both sides will be hoping to head into the lay-off on a high note.
Gladbach and Dortmund haven’t struggled to score this season, but their defensive efforts could improve. It’s time to take a closer look at the teams.
Let’s start with the hosts, Gladbach, who head into Friday’s clash on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Bochum. After conceding twice in the opening 12 minutes, the Foals failed to bounce back.
Gladbach have now lost three of their last four Bundesliga games. When you look at the bigger picture, they have only managed to win one of their previous five.
It is worth noting that all of Gladbach’s past eight league matches have produced over 2.5 goals, with five of those dishing up over 3.5 goals.
It is also worth pointing out that Gladbach have kept just three clean sheets in 14 Bundesliga clashes this term.
As for Dortmund, they were beating 2-0 by Wolfsburg in midweek – despite racking up 64% possession and 21 shots.
BVB were enjoying a three-game winning streak in the Bundesliga before meeting the Wolves, having dispatched Stuttgart (5-0), Eintracht Frankfurt (1-2) and Bochum (3-0).
However, they ended up suffering their fifth Bundesliga defeat of the campaign last time out – conceding over 1.5 goals for the fifth time in 14 games.
Teenagers Jude Bellingham (9 goals, 2 assists) and Youssoufa Moukoko (6 goals, 6 assists) have combined for 23 goal involvements across all competitions this term.
Head-to-head: Dortmund thrashed Gladbach 6-0 when the teams last met back in February, with Marco Reus bagging a brace on that occasion.
Believe it or not, Gladbach have only managed to win two of their previous 16 meetings with BVB in all competitions.
Team news: Gladbach’s injury lost features Florian Neuhaus, Ko Itakura, Hannes Wolf, Yann Sommer, Tony Jantschke and Tobias Sippel.
Meanwhile, Dortmund have Sebastien Haller, Mahmoud Dahoud, Mateu Morey, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Thomas Munier, Tom Rothe and Marius Wolf on the sidelines.
Both these sides have struggled for consistency this season, but Dortmund should have enough quality to get past Gladbach.
Forbet predicts that Gladbach and Dortmund will combine for over 2.5 goals on Friday. However, the visitors are expected to outscore the hosts.
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