Eintracht Frankfurt are hoping to build on their 5-2 win in Nürnberg when they welcome Gladbach to the Commerzbank Arena
Eintracht Frankfurt are hoping to build on their 5-2 win in Nürnberg when they welcome Gladbach to the Commerzbank Arena

Gladbach eye third-straight win in Frankfurt

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Frankfurt - Borussia Mönchengladbach are hoping to maintain their push for a UEFA Champions League qualification spot when they travel to relegation-battlers Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday night (kick-off 19:00 GMT/20:00 CET).

Veh: “Important for both teams”

Following a run of nine games without a win, the Foals have now secured back-to-back victories over Borussia Dortmund and Hertha Berlin, but may be hard pushed on the road against a Frankfurt side brimming with confidence following a 5-2 win over 1. FC Nürnberg.

Midfield motor Stefan Aigner admitted the Eagles were perhaps “a little bit lucky” at the weekend, but the resounding scoreline has nonetheless put the wind beneath their wings. “We were as happy with the win over Nürnberg as we were disappointed about the defeat to Freiburg,” said head coach Armin Veh. “Of course it’s always nicer to win, but the manner in which we decided the game in our favour was tremendous.”

Sitting six points clear of the drop zone after collecting as many wins since the turn of the year as they did in the whole first half of the season, Frankfurt’s fate now lies in their own hands ahead of a string of fixtures against teams in the top half of the table. “I don’t know whether it’s a good or bad time to face Gladbach, but maybe it’s also a bad time to come up against us,” concluded Veh, who could include Vaclav Kadlec in his starting line-up. “With the result holding so much importance for both teams, it will be a tough match for us and for Gladbach.”

In the ascendency


The Foals have won their last four encounters with Frankfurt and, with just two points separating them and second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen, will be confident of maintaining their winning ways in the first of four games against sides battling the drop. “Eintracht boast an incredible amount of attacking power,” admitted holding midfielder Christoph Kramer. “It definitely won’t be easy, but of course we believe that we'll be able to build on the last two victories.”

Swedish international Oscar Wendt has returned to training, but will not be available on Wednesday, while Havard Nordtveit could return to the centre of midfield after completing his one match ban. “He played well against Dortmund,” said head coach Lucien Favre. “However, it’s clear that we have a lot of competition for places in midfield.” Sporting director Max Eberl claimed the club were “remaining realistic” about their European ambitions, but a win of Wednesday may help reality sink in.

Possible line-ups:

Frankfurt: Trapp - S. Jung, Zambrano, Madlung, Djakpa - Russ, Flum - Aigner, Rosenthal, Barnetta - Joselu

Gladbach: ter Stegen - Korb, Stranzl, Alvaro Dominguez, Daems - Jantschke, Kramer - Herrmann, Arango - Raffael, M. Kruse