Put the excitement to one side and focus

Borussia Mönchengladbach preview
Max Kruse scored against his ex-club, for which he played between 2013 and 2015 (photo: nordphoto).
preliminary report
Friday, 05.04.2019 / 17:15

SV Werder are undoubtedly the most in form team right now in the Bundesliga. On Wednesday evening, the Green-Whites successfully got through to the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal and are currently in 6th in the league. There next opportunity to pick up points will be on Sunday (18:00 CEST) against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Gladbach are however unbeaten against Werder in their last six games, more than any other team in the Bundesliga. In the 100th Bundesliga game between the two teams, Werder will be looking to end their winless run against the foals.

Previous meeting: “Plea… Plea… Plea… In the game between the two teams in the first half of the season, Borussia Mönchengladbach were ice cold. The opponents pounced on every error made by the Werder defence and thanks to an Alassane Pléa hattrick, Gladbach deservedly won the game 3-1. The new singing was the man of the match with his hattrick. Although Werder’s attack, which consisted of Kruse, Harnik and Co. made many chances but were just missing the final touch to score. Nuri Sahin’s first goal was unable to change the result at the end of the day. At that time, Werder had lost their third game in a row and had dropped to seventh place. It is a phase from which Werder have reemerged much stronger.

The Gladbach offensive-trio (photo: nordphoto).

The opponents: The last few weeks have not been easy for Dieter Hecking and his team. The head coach, who will be leaving at the end of the season, suffered a deserved 3-1 defeat to Fortuna Düsseldorf in the ‘Rhein derby’ (3-1). Borussia have only picked up five points in their last seven games, and have lost their position in fourth to Eintracht Frankfurt. Nevertheless, Mönchengladbach are unbeaten against Werder in their last six games, more than any other team in the league.

Squad news: For the game at the BORUSSIA PARK, Florian Kohfeldt will be able to call upon a nearly fully-fit squad. “Theodor Gebre-Selassie and Phillip Bargfrede should both be options for Sunday, hopefully.”  Both players trained individually today. Milos Veljkovic, who had to come off during the game against Schalke 04 after receiving a heavy challenge, will also be available on Sunday. Other than Fin Bartels, all players are available.

Florian Kohfeldt will want his team to continue their fine form against Gladbach (photo: nph).

The boss on the game: Head coach Florian Kohfeldt showed lots of respect to the upcoming opponents during the press conference on Friday. “Gladbach have a clear playing style and are very flexible up front,” explained the 36-year-old, who also admitted to being a big fan of his playing style. After getting through to the semi-finals, Kohfeldt wants his team to be fully focused on Sunday: “We can’t take them easily. In order to win points in Gladbach, we need to be 100% focused.”

Key player: The orchestrator of Gladbach’s attack is captain Lars Stindl. “He is an incredibly difficult to defend against type of player, who makes many sprints in behind and covers a lot of ground,” said Kohfeldt, full of respect. Stindl has played 19 games in the Bundesliga this season so far, scoring three and assisting three. The captain leads by example and the Green-White’s defence will have to keep an eye on him.

The officials: Daniel Schlager will ref the game. The last Werder game where Schlager officiated was matchday three. The 29-year-old will be assisted by Tobias Reichel and Sascha Thielert on the sidelines. Sören Storks is the fourth official whilst Tobias Stieler and Michael Bacher are both the video assistants.  

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