Borussia Mönchengladbach – Bayern Munich
The top match of the Bundesliga takes us to the Lower Rhine this week. The eyes of German soccer fans will be on the classic match between Borussia from Gladbach and FC Bayern on Matchday 3 at 18:30 on Saturday. Both teams are looking to pick up another three important points before the upcoming international break. In our Gladbach – Bayern tip, you can find out who has the edge in this prestigious duel.
For the third time in the past four seasons, Mönchengladbach has just one point in its account after two match days. Nevertheless, the VfL does not enter the field as an outsider. After all, FC Bayern Munich represented a favorite opponent for them in the past. Since the 2011/12 season, Mönchengladbach has picked up 35 points against the reigning champions, more than any other Bundesliga team.
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel, however, is looking for a third win in the third Bundesliga match with his team. In the previous week, he won 3:1 against FC Augsburg with the record champion. However, Tuchel’s record against Gladbach doesn’t look outstanding either, as the 50-year-old has only won seven of his 14 games against the Foals as a coach.
Gladbach – Bayern info:
- Date & Time: 09/02/2023, 18:30 hrs.
- Conference venue: Borussia-Park, Mönchengladbach
- Competition: Bundesliga, Matchday 3
- TV broadcast: Sky
Gladbach form & balance check
The Gladbach team played in the absolute midfield of the league for most of the past season. Especially in the second half of the season, coach Daniel Farke’s team hardly showed any resilience and gave away one or two games early on. At the end of the season, the Foals finished in a disappointing tenth place.
Under new coach Gerardo Seoane, Borussia now wants to get back into international business. However, the start of the season was again somewhat sluggish for the Foals. Gladbach started the new Bundesliga season with a 4:4 in Augsburg, before suffering a heavy 0:3 defeat against Rhineland rivals Leverkusen the previous week.
Gladbach keeper problem
Gladbach’s Borussia is something like Bayern’s fearful opponent. But for the streak of five games without defeat against the record champions to continue for the Foals, they will need another outstanding goalkeeping performance on Saturday. For many years, it was Yann Sommer who regularly excelled for Gladbach against FC Bayern.
After his six-month adventure with FCB, the Swiss international keeper is now with Inter Milan in Serie A. His compatriot Jonas Omlin should actually lead the Foals into the new season as captain. However, the 29-year-old will probably be out for the next few weeks with a shoulder injury. Accordingly, 21-year-old Jan Olschowsky will probably have to rise above himself against the record champions and in the coming games.
Gladbach facts & analysis
- Last season in tenth place in the Bundesliga.
- Lost 0:3 against Leverkusen in the previous week
- Only five Bundesliga wins in 2023
Bayern form & balance check
The past season at FCB was anything but smooth. In the two major cup competitions came already in the quarterfinals the elimination, which greatly disappointed the supporters of Bayern. Nevertheless, the FCB eventually secured the championship title, albeit with a fair amount of luck. In the current season, the record champion is again aiming for the triple.
In the Super Cup, however, the Munich team suffered a defeat when Leipzig dominated them 0:3 at their own stadium. The first Bundesliga match against Bremen, on the other hand, was much more positive for Bayern, who climbed straight back up to second place in the table with a 4-0 win. The record champion also retained the upper hand in the second Bundesliga match, this time with a 3:1 victory over FC Augsburg.
Bayern’s wing speedsters
The offensive wing positions are always occupied by top-class players at Bayern. With Gnabry, Sané and Coman, the club has three players in its squad who, at their best, can undoubtedly be classified as world-class. Despite a rather mixed season, Serge Gnabry was the leading scorer in the Bundesliga with 14 goals in the previous season at the record champion.
Both Sané and Coman contributed to the opposing net with eight goals each. In the absence of Jamal Musiala, the three last appeared together against Augsburg and were all in Bayern’s starting eleven. Next Saturday, these three will look to shine together once again and set up opportunities for goalscorer Harry Kane.
Bayern facts & analysis
- Reigning German champion
- Best offense and defense in the Bundesliga last year
- Won 3:1 against Augsburg in the previous week
Predicted lineup – last update on September 1, 2023
Gladbach last played against Leverkusen in a 3-4-2-1, and we expect the Foals to play in this system against Bayern as well. Since Florian Neuhaus has not been convincing in the center lately, Rocco Reitz could start in the center against the record champions. Newcomer Jordan will probably come off the bench. Goalkeeper Jonas Omlin will also probably not be available to the Foals for the next few weeks due to injury.
The German record champions are again likely to start in a 4-2-3-1. In the starting lineup, we do not expect any changes in the team of coach Thomas Tuchel. Jamal Musiala, Raphaël Guerreiro and Manuel Neuer will still be missing against Gladbach due to injury.
Gladbach – Bayern direct comparison & statistics
If we take an in-depth look at the direct encounter between these two teams, it becomes clear that FC Bayern clearly has the upper hand in this duel. From the 118 encounters so far, Bayern have emerged victorious 57 times. Mönchengladbach recorded 29 victories and also 32 games ended in a draw. However, since Jupp Heynckes left FC Bayern for the second time, the record champions have only emerged victorious in eight of their 21 duels against Borussia.
- Bayern’s last Bundesliga win at Gladbach was on 03/02/2019.
- Both teams were separated by 28 points in the preseason.
- Gladbach did not lose any of their last five matches against Bayern
