The Bundesliga’s dramatic season is set to continue here with a thrilling game between Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen as two sides in similar stature enter this one with entirely contrasting seasons as of now.
It's been a strange season in the Bundesliga so far, and although it does seem as if champions Bayern Munich will seal another title in due course, their lead has recently been slashed to six and it is far from over.
On the other hand, the usual suspects in the fight for the top four have gone missing this year and it has left it to be a two-horse race for the Bundesliga title between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern.
As of now Hoffenheim and Freiburg make up the rest of the top four, while the likes of RB Leipzig, Leverkusen, Wolfsburg, and Gladbach all sit a distance from the top four and it leaves them with serious work to do in 2022.
Leverkusen sit the closest to this still, as they are only a point off the fourth-placed Freiburg, but just a point ahead of the sixth-placed Koln. Now, their season can go either way and they must not slip up any more, as the club already has five draws and five defeats and just eight wins in the German top flight this season.
Leverkusen are also in pretty torrid form on the top four front. They recently drew with fellow hopefuls, Union Berlin, while they also drew with Hoffenheim and lost to Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt. It leaves Gerardo Seoane's men winless since that stunning 7-1 victory over Greuther Furth back in early December.
Moreover, with games against Dortmund and Bayern coming relatively soon, it's crucial they get the win here. Gladbach themselves, are even more desperate for a win as they are now eight points off the Champions League spots, and even six adrift of the Europa Conference League.
It’s been a dreadful campaign for them, as they are now only four points above the relegation zone in the post-Marco Rose era and it just goes to show how crucial the now Dortmund manager was for them. At the same time, their 33 goals conceded is the third-worst in the Bundesliga.
They have only netted 24 goals as well, and with nine wins on the board already, it's tough to see how they get any decent results in the near future.
Forebet predicts another defeat for them here as Leverkusen attempt to keep up their top four battle, while Forebet also expects the game to see over 2.5 goals.