Borussia Mönchengladbach – Werder Bremen
Gladbach are still waiting for their first goal of the season after two matchdays, while Bremen have also only managed to collect one point despite their spectacular 3-3 draw with Leverkusen. On Sunday, two teams still searching for form will face each other at Borussia-Park, with the recent past clearly favoring the hosts: The Foals are unbeaten at home against Bremen in 13 Bundesliga games and won the last two direct duels 4-1 and 4-2. Coach Gerardo Seoane even has a perfect record against the Hanseatic club, while both clubs have strengthened their squads at the last minute. Gladbach is banking on creativity with Giovanni Reyna, while Bremen has signed Victor Boniface, a real goal scorer from Bayer Leverkusen, whose extraordinary movements have already been praised by coach Horst Steffen. Injury worries are weighing heavily on both teams: Gladbach will continue to be without striker Tim Kleindienst, while Bremen is missing an important center back after Stark’s red card against Leverkusen.
- Venue: BORUSSIA-PARK, Mönchengladbach
- Date and time: September 14, 2025, 5:30 p.m.
- Competition: Bundesliga (Matchday 3)
Gladbach form & record check
The Foals are going through a difficult phase after two Bundesliga matchdays. Borussia Mönchengladbach have been waiting 180 minutes for their first goal of the season, with their offensive efforts proving unsuccessful in both the goalless draw against Hamburg and the narrow 0-1 defeat in Stuttgart. A noticeable pattern has emerged in their recent performances: All three games were goalless at halftime, with the second half usually bringing little forward momentum. Against Stuttgart, Gladbach conceded the decisive goal late on through Chema Andrés. With only one point from two games and 14th place in the table, the start to the season has been anything but successful, although the gap to their direct rivals is still within limits. Both Mainz above and Hamburg below have also collected only one point. The injury to Tim Kleindienst weighs particularly heavily, with the national striker still out until the end of October. Coach Gerardo Seoane has to reorganize his offense: Haris Tabakovic is supposed to fill the gap in the attack on loan from Hoffenheim, but has not yet been able to make a decisive impact. Giovanni Reyna is still waiting for his first Bundesliga appearance in a Gladbach jersey after his transfer from Dortmund.
Coach Seoane is expected to stick with the tried-and-tested 4-1-4-1 formation that his team has already used this season. Nicolas is likely to be in goal, while an interesting defensive lineup is emerging: Diks could once again play alongside Elvedi in central defense after Friedrich was left out of the starting lineup last time out. The midfield around Sander as a defensive midfielder and the attacking wide players Honorat and Hack seem to be set. It remains to be seen whether Reyna will go straight into the starting eleven after his strong performance in the friendly against Schalke or whether he will come off the bench. Machino is likely to be preferred to Tabakovic up front after the Japanese player showed promise in recent games. Kleindienst and Ngoumou are still unavailable due to injury.
Werder Form & Record Check
Werder Bremen’s record so far is sobering: the Hanseatic club has only picked up one point from its first two Bundesliga games and has already conceded four goals. With 16th place in the table and a goal difference of minus three, Horst Steffen’s team is already under pressure early on. Bremen’s defensive vulnerability is particularly striking, with the team conceding goals in all three competitive games and conceding in the second half each time. In the 4-1 defeat in Frankfurt, the defense looked completely overwhelmed, and even the 3-3 draw against Bayer Leverkusen masked structural problems. Even in the DFB Cup against third-division side Arminia Bielefeld, the team failed to keep a clean sheet. The offense has also been inconsistent: although they managed a spectacular equalizer against Leverkusen after Niklas Stark was sent off with a red card, their attacking power remained limited in Frankfurt and Bielefeld. It will be exciting to see how the late signings Victor Boniface and Cameron Puertas integrate into the team. Coach Steffen is already raving about Boniface’s extraordinary movements and sees him as the solution to the offensive weakness. The personnel situation remains tense, as key regulars Wöber, Pieper, Weiser, and Deman are out with injuries. At least the national team players are returning in time, and the new signings could bring a breath of fresh air. The battle for set pieces between Schmid and Puertas shows that not all processes are running smoothly yet.
Werder Bremen are expected to line up in the tried-and-tested 4-2-3-1 formation favored by coach Horst Steffen. Backhaus is likely to be between the posts after establishing himself as the new number one. The personnel problems in defense remain serious: with Wöber, Pieper, Malatini, Deman, and Weiser, five important defensive players are out. Stark and Coulibaly could therefore form the central defense, while Sugawara and Agu occupy the flanks. In midfield, new signing Puertas is likely to make his Werder debut alongside Lynen. An interesting battle for a place in the starting eleven is shaping up in attack: Schmid and new loanee Mbangula are likely to occupy the wings, while Grüll could start in the center of the attack. Boniface will probably start on the bench after Steffen indicated that the Leverkusen loanee still needs time.
H2H Gladbach – Werder Head-to-head comparison & statistics
The recent record between Gladbach and Bremen paints a clear picture: Borussia have come out on top in the last two Bundesliga encounters. In March 2025, the Foals won 4-2 away, having already celebrated a 4-1 victory at home in November 2024. The two games before that were more evenly matched, with both teams drawing 2-2 in May 2024 in Bremen and in December 2023 in Gladbach. This series shows how the balance of power has recently shifted in Borussia’s favor. There is a noticeable pattern in the half-time scores: three of the last four Bundesliga encounters were tied at the break. Both teams seem to feel each other out at first before the decisions are made in the second half. Bremen scored in four of the last five duels after the break, but also conceded goals on a regular basis. The goal tally suggests entertaining encounters, with four of the five meetings ending with at least three goals and two even seeing more than four goals scored. This indicates that both teams are offensively minded and do not rely heavily on defensive tactics when they meet.
There is more to this than just home advantage, as the Foals face an opponent missing five defenders, including key players such as Weiser and Wöber. This personnel shortage makes Werder vulnerable, especially as the Hanseatic club has conceded goals in every competitive game this season and has already conceded five goals in just two league games. Gladbach’s impressive home record against Bremen further reinforces their status as favorites. The market offers a draw at 4.0, which is quite an attractive price considering that neither team has ever led at halftime and five of the last 13 matches at Borussia-Park have ended in a draw. Over 3.5 goals at odds of over 2.0 could also be worth considering: Bremen’s leaky defense faces Gladbach’s pent-up offense, which is finally looking to break its 180-minute goal drought. Giovanni Reyna’s expected debut and Victor Boniface’s possible first appearance promise additional offensive momentum.
