Heidenheim vs. Gladbach preview: Two closely-matched sides face off
Just one point separates Heidenheim and Borussia Mönchengladbach ahead of Saturday’s Bundesliga meeting at the Voith-Arena.
Heidenheim
Heidenheim have experienced a dip in form in recent weeks, with their last four matches producing one draw and three defeats. They followed a defeat to Bayer Leverkusen with a draw against Union Berlin, before they were edged out in their home meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt. Unfortunately for Frank Schmidt’s side, they were unable to take anything from last Saturday’s trip to the WWK Arena. Augsburg’s Jeffrey Gouweleeuw scored the only goal of the game to condemn Heidenheim to a second straight defeat.
Despite experiencing a poor run of results, Heidenheim can still be pleased with their overall performance in their first-ever Bundesliga campaign. Having picked up 28 points from 25 matches, they are currently sitting in 11th place and 10 points clear of the bottom three.
They will try to add to that tally in Saturday’s home clash with Gladbach. Having taken just two points from their last four games at the Voith-Arena, Heidenheim are still waiting for their first competitive home victory of 2024.
Team News
Heidenheim are unable to call upon Lennard Maloney, Thomas Keller, Elidon Qenaj, Adrian Beck and Marvin Pieringer. Meanwhile, Benedikt Gimber is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.
Gladbach
Gladbach will have to pick themselves up from a disappointing defeat to third-tier Saarbrücken in the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal. Robin Hack saw his eighth-minute opener quickly cancelled out by Amine Naïfi, ensuring the scoreline remained at 1-1 for the majority of the contest. However, with the tie heading towards extra time, Kai Brünker netted a 93rd-minute winner to continue Saarbrücken’s memorable cup journey and end Gladbach’s hopes of winning the competition for the first time since 1994-95.
Gerardo Seoane’s side will now turn their focus towards the final nine fixtures of their Bundesliga campaign. Gladbach have experienced an underwhelming season, having won six, drawn nine and lost 10 of their 25 league games. As a result, die Fohlen are currently in 12th place and one point behind Saturday’s opponents.
Gladbach have struggled on their travels this season, having won just one of their 12 away league games, with that sole victory taking place against Bochum in September.
Team News
The visitors are without Alassane Pléa and Tomáš Čvančara due to injury, while Maximilian Wöber is a doubt after missing the midweek cup defeat.