Gladbach vs. Köln preview: The Rhine derby
It’s another edition of the Rhine derby, as Gladbach host the Billy Goats, who defeated their rivals in the first meeting of the season back in October.
Gladbach
Gladbach drew to 10-man Mainz last week and seem destined for another finish in the middle of the table. Their offense started the year with a bang, but they’ve struggled of late having only scored more than one goal once in their last seven games.
American Joe Scally has fallen out of favor and Stefan Lainer is expected to continue at right-back again this weekend. Gladbach must avoid looking ahead to their huge DFB quarterfinal match against Saarbrücken on Wednesday.
In his presser, Gerardo Seoane said, "Since day one, I've felt like everyone knows what's important. They know about how vital the derby and the Pokal are. We've seen that all season. Sometimes with good and sometimes with weaker performances, but it's a process that will keep going."
Team News
Alassane Plea and Tomas Cvancara are both unavailable. It feels unlikely that Jonas Omlin will be reinserted into the starting lineup.
Köln
Köln are looking more stable defensively under new coach Timo Schultz, but are still desperately searching for goals offensively. They’ve put away a league low 16 in 24 games and are set to battle with Mainz until the bitter end to at least secure a relegation playoff spot.
Several key players are out injured and several others are suspended for Saturday. Köln will of course bring a large group of supporters to town in what will be a wild atmosphere at Borussia-Park.
Schultz commented, “There are Nachbarschaftsduelle and there are Derbies. You can feel the tension on the way to the stadium. We want it to be emotional but to be fair, on and off the pitch. And ideally, we come out on top.”
Team News
Davie Selke and Faride Alidou featured in some training this week, but are both questionable. Luca Waldschmidt, Mark Uth and Justin Diehl are expected to remain out, while Jan Thielmann and Dejan Ljubicic are suspended. Schultz confirmed in his presser that Florian Kainz will start.