Borussia Monchengladbach welcome Hamburg to Borussia Park on Friday night in the Bundesliga knowing they cannot afford to drop more points if they want to stay in the hunt for a top four place.
As things stand, Borussia Monchengladbach sit 7th in the Bundesliga yet they are only 4 points off second place Schalke and 2 points off fourth place Bayer Leverkusen. This shows how tight things are at the top of the league but Borussia Monchengladbach cannot afford to keep dropping points if they want to stay involved in the chase behind Bayern Munich.
Hamburg find themselves towards the bottom of the table and come into this match sitting in 16th place, which is the relegation playoff spot.
However, a win in this match could move them up to 13th in the table before the other teams play on the weekend.
Trends show Borussia Monchengladbach have failed to win their last three Bundesliga games, losing at Wolfsburg and Freiburg, two teams in the bottom half of the table and drawing with Schalke at home.
They will see this as the perfect match in which to get back to winning ways and Borussia Monchengladbach are undefeated in five of their last six home games. Three of those games have been wins, including an excellent 2-1 victory over Bayern Munich.
Interestingly, both teams have scored in each of Borussia Monchengladbach’s last five home Bundesliga games.
Hamburg failed to take advantage of having two home matches in a row and were held 0-0 by Wolfsburg on Saturday before losing 2-1 against Eintracht Frankfurt. These were two games Hamburg were hoping to get more than a point from but they were left disappointed.
Trends show Hamburg have won only one of their last five Bundesliga games and have picked up just four victories in the league this season.
They have been defeated in four of their last five away league games and have won only one of their last fourteen away matches in all competitions. Hamburg have failed to score in their last two away games.
Looking ahead to the team news and Borussia Monchengladbach are still struggling with injuries and will be without several players including Jonas Hofmann, Tobias Strobl, Ibrahima Traore, Patrick Herrmann and Fabian Johnson. Denis Zakaria is suspended.
Hamburg are without Nicolai Muller and Bjarne Thoelke who are injured. There is also a doubt over the fitness of striker Bobby Wood.
Neither Borussia Monchengladbach or Hamburg come into this match in good form and with their current injury problems, the home team are not as clear favourites for the win as they might have been with a fully fit squad.
Given Borussia Monchengladbach’s defensive problems, Hamburg could get a goal but it’s the home team who just have the edge thanks to playing in-front of their own fans.