Gladbach vs. Darmstadt preview: Die Lilien desperately need a result
On Matchday 21, Darmstadt travel to Gladbach, who are fully rested and fairly healthy after the postponement of their Pokal quarterfinal match.
Gladbach
Due to extremely rainy conditions, Gladbach’s cup tie against Saarbrücken on Wednesday was postponed until further notice. Die Fohlen are yet again a strange case to look at, as they’ve conceded the second-most goals in league play, although they hold the best goal-scoring record for a lower-half side by far.
Gladbach lost to Bayern last week and interestingly enough, Gerardo Seoane substituted his entire attacking midfield four. With Alassane Plea expected to be back in the starting lineup, Seoane could return to a back three with Luca Netz playing higher up on the left wing and Manu Kone back in midfield.
When asked about their postponed game, the trainer said, "We really wanted to play because there's no better form of training than a match. It's hard to say if the changes to our preparation are an advantage or a disadvantage. We've accepted it, adjusted our training plans and prepared as best we can."
Team News
Jonas Omlin and Tomas Cvancara are out, while Maximilian Wöber and Ko Itakura were both in team training this week and are options this weekend.
Darmstadt
Darmstadt haven’t won any of their last 13 league games and look destined for a return back to the second division. They lost to Leverkusen last weekend, but were able to stick with the world-class side for much of the game.
They really need their defense to step up, who’ve allowed 49 goals in 20 games. On Matchday 21, much of the attack will again run through Tim Skarke, who now looks to be playing opposite Bochum loanee Gerrit Holtmann on the wing.
Torsten Lieberknecht commented, "Being able to play in Gladbach is one of our biggest games. It's an incredible club with a great fan base. It's pure football in Gladbach and I'm looking forward to the game."
Team News
Clemens Riedel, Fraser Hornby, Mathias Honsak and Braydon Manu are out. Christoph Klarer is suffering from some back problems, but he was seen back in training this week. Fabian Nürnberger, Julian Justvan and Matej Maglica should all be fit enough to feature.