Gladbach vs. Wolfsburg preview: Two mid-table sides commence battle
Just three points separate Borussia Mönchengladbach and Wolfsburg ahead of Friday's meeting between the two sides.
Gladbach
Gladbach would have been left thinking what could have been after they gave up a two-goal cushion to draw with Freiburg last weekend. After falling behind in the seventh minute, Gladbach fought back to take a 3-1 lead into the break following goals from Jordan, Alassane Pléa and Julian Weigl. Despite seeing the deficit halved with 20 minutes to go, Gladbach looked set to see out the remainder of the contest until Fabio Chiarodia gave away a penalty in stoppage time, giving Vincenzo Grifo the chance to net a late spot-kick to snatch a point.
Although Gladbach missed out on a second away league win of the season, they are now unbeaten in three games after previously claiming consecutive wins over Heidenheim in the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal. Die Fohlen, who currently occupy 11th position in the league table, will be confident about their chances of extending their unbeaten run, having avoided defeat in their last seven head-to-head meetings with Wolfsburg (W3, D4).
Team News
The hosts are having to contend with a lengthy injury list which includes Yvandro Borges Sanches, Ko Itakura, Lukas Ullrich, Tobias Sippel, Hannes Wolf, Tony Jantschke and Jonas Omlin.
Jordan will also miss out due to a muscle injury, while Max Wöber is a doubt for Friday's contest.
Wolfsburg
Like their hosts, Wolfsburg also gave up a lead last weekend, as they dropped points at home to Werder Bremen. Goals from Václav Černý and Kevin Paredes gave Wolfsburg a 2-1 advantage, before Rafael Santos Borré equalised in the 65th minute to ensure the spoils were shared.
Despite beating RB Leipzig in the Pokal last month, die Wölfe have now gone four league games without a win (D1, L3) since claiming a 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt at the end of September. Having conceded at least two goals in each of their last four Bundesliga matches, ninth-placed Wolfsburg will be looking for a defensive improvement on Friday.
They will also be hoping to end their poor form on the road after losing their previous four away matches. If they can claim all three points at Borussia-Park, it would represent their first away win over Gladbach since February 2019.
Team News
Patrick Wimmer, Lukas Nmecha, Killian Fischer and Felix Lange are all ruled out through injury. Moritz Jenz is unavailable due to illness, while Maxence Lacroix will serve a one-match suspension after being sent off last weekend.