Gladbach vs. Mainz preview: Farke's side look to continue their impressive start
Mainz are off to steal some points on Matchday 5, as they travel to face Gladbach and in-form Yann Sommer.
Gladbach
Gladbach are riding high after Yann Sommer's other-worldly performance in their draw against Bayern last weekend. On the offensive end, Marcus Thuram already has six goals in five competitive matches, while Alassane Plea has also impressed.
With two draws and two wins to begin the season, there's now a good feeling in the Gladbach camp that they can make a return to European football. If that's the case, they must at the minimum get a point from these games against mid-table opposition.
Trainer Daniel Farke is especially pleased with one particular signing from the summer: “We're very happy to have signed Julian Weigl. He is an experienced player at the perfect age and has a fantastic character. It wasn't easy to secure his services - our patience and persistence paid off in the end."
Team News
Stefan Laimer will be their only absentee due to his thigh injury. Ramy Bensebaini has fully recovered from a case of the flu that saw him miss Matchday 4.
Mainz
Mainz were off and rolling without a loss in their first three fixtures. But, a really poor performance against struggling Leverkusen last weekend dimmed some of those hopes.
At least Jonathan Burkardt looks to have fully recovered from his hamstring injury. He'll pair with Karim Onisiwo up front, as coach Bo Svensson returns to face a club in which he made 32 appearances for as a player.
Svensson stated that, "We need to do better in possession than we did against Leverkusen. We've worked on that this week." On facing Sommer: "Gladbach have quite a good goalkeeper, but we already knew that from last season."
Team News
Mainz also has a fairly full squad available, as Marcus Ingvartsen is their sole injured player.