Home specialists Gladbach set for Barca test
Borussia Mönchengladbach’s home campaign in Group C of this season’s UEFA Champions League gets under way in mouth-watering style when they host FC Barcelona on Wednesday (kick-off: 20:45 CEST/18:45 GMT).
Even without the injured Lionel Messi, Barca will be a stern test for Andre Schubert’s side with stars of the calibre of Luis Suarez and Neymar in their ranks. But the Foals should be confident, with a superb home record of 11 straight wins in all competitions ahead of Wednesday’s meeting.
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Home comforts will suit Gladbach
This 11-game winning streak on home turf stretches back to 5 February, when SV Werder Bremen were seen off to the tune of a 5-1 thrashing. Gladbach have scored 37 goals over the course of this run, only conceding six, to turn BORUSSIA-PARK into something of a fortress.
Under Schubert, Gladbach are a vibrant, attacking outfit to the delight of over 50,000 fans on their own patch. They burst out of the blocks to go 3-0 up over Bremen after just 21 minutes on Matchday 3 on the way to a comfortable 4-1 win, just the kind of form they will need when Barca show up.
Watch: Gladbach's devastating destruction of Bremen
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Fingers crossed for Raffael
Striker Raffael looks set to return to the side after missing Gladbach’s last two Bundesliga matches with adductor muscle problems. The Brazilian grabbed four goals, including a second-leg hat-trick, in the Foals’ 9-2 aggregate win over Young Boys that eased his side into the group phase of the Champions League.
He also scored twice in that 4-1 victory over Bremen, linking up well with the in-form Thorgan Hazard. Likely to be trying to thwart Gladbach’s attacking juggernaut is a familiar face to the home fans in Marc-Andre ter Stegen, making his return to his old stamping ground as Barca’s first-choice ‘keeper.
He also scored twice in that 4-1 victory over Bremen, linking up well with the in-form Thorgan Hazard. Likely to be trying to thwart Gladbach’s attacking juggernaut is a familiar face to the home fans in Marc-Andre ter Stegan, making his return to his old stamping ground as Barca’s first-choice ‘keeper.
Meanwhile Gladbach’s USMNT defender Fabian Johnson has played his part at both ends of the pitch. He is part of a solid-looking backline that is sure to be tested on Wednesday, and he popped up to grab his 10th goal since joining the club in 2014 that rescued a point at RB Leipzig on Matchday 4.