Bayern Munich may be running away with the Bundesliga title in Germany this season but there is a thrilling contest developing behind them for the four Champions League places.
Two of the teams hoping to occupy those places meet on Friday night as Eintracht Frankfurt welcome Borussia Monchengladbach to the Commerzbank Arena.
Eintracht Frankfurt start this match sitting in 7th place in the league yet are only 1 point adrift of second place Bayer Leverkusen, who have 31 points. Borussia Monchengladbach find themselves in 5th place and they are 1 point ahead of the hosts, also on 31 points.
So, a win in this match for either team could make a big difference in who finishes in the top four this season.
Trends show Eintracht Frankfurt have lost just two of their last fifteen matches in all competitions and have been a tough team to beat. They defeated Wolfsburg 3-1 away from home in their previous Bundesliga fixture.
Eintracht Frankfurt are undefeated in their last four Bundesliga matches, winning two and drawing two but have struggled recently when playing in-front of their own fans. Trends show they have won only one of their last six home league games and have failed to win in their last four attempts at the Commerzbank Arena.
Interestingly, both teams have scored in twelve of their last fourteen Bundesliga games.
Borussia Monchengladbach defeated Augsburg 2-0 at home last weekend and this was a good response to the 2-1 defeat at the hands of bottom club Koln in their previous Bundesliga game.
Trends show Borussia Monchengladbach have been inconsistent in recent league games and have won two, drawn one and lost three of their last six matches in the Bundesliga. Having been tough to beat, they have struggled away from home and lost each of their last three on the road, all to teams in the bottom half of the table.
Both teams have scored in ten of Borussia Monchengladbach’s last thirteen away league games, so while they have been scoring goals, trying to keep them out has been a problem.
Looking ahead to the team news and Eintracht Frankfurt have several players on the treatment table including Alexander Meier, Nelson Mbouhom, Jonathan de Guzman, David Abraham, Marco Fabian and Marco Russ. The hosts also have four players close to suspension, including Kevin Prince Boateng.
Borussia Monchengladbach travel will similar injury problems to their hosts and could be without Tobias Strobl, Laszlo Benes, Ibrahima Traore, Fabian Johnson, Mamadou Doucoure and Raul Bobadilla.
There is very little to spit these two teams and the pressure will be on knowing just what a win would mean to each of them in terms of the top four. Both teams have been scoring and conceding goals and we could see a game which ends level but with both teams finding the back of the net.