The final German Bundesliga match of the weekend sees Borussia Monchengladbach entertain Stuttgart at Borussia Park on Sunday evening.
Borussia Monchengladbach start the weekend sitting second in the Bundesliga, 7 points adrift of top of the table Borussia Dortmund. They must win this match to keep within touching distance of the leader but also to avoid being overtaken by the teams below them in the table.
Stuttgart are battling against the drop and find themselves in the relegation playoff zone at the beginning of the weekend. A win could potentially move them up to 14th place but there is also the danger they could drop to bottom place.
Mönchengladbach suffered a setback last weekend as they lost 2-0 at RB Leipzig. With RB Leipzig close to them in the league, this was a disappointing result and their first defeat in four Bundesliga games.
Having lost at Freiburg, Borussia Monchengladbach defeated Fortuna Dusseldorf and Hannover 96 at home plus Werder Bremen away from home. However, trends show Borussia Monchengladbach are strongest in-front of their own fans and they have won each of their last nine home matches in the Bundesliga.
Scoring goals has been Borussia Monchengladbach’s biggest asset on home soil. They have scored 2 or more goals in each of their last eleven home Bundesliga games. Borussia Monchengladbach have also scored 3 or more goals in each of the previous four home league games, registering 4 goals twice and will be looking for more of the same in this match.
Stuttgart recorded only their third win of the season last weekend as they defeated Augsburg 1-0 at home. That was their second win in three games following the win over Nurnberg and defeat at Bayer Leverkusen.
However, that does not hide the problems that have been facing Stuttgart this season in the Bundesliga. Trends show they have failed to score a goal in four of their last six Bundesliga matches plus have lost three of their last six games in all competitions by 3 goals or more.
Away form in the Bundesliga shows five defeats in seven games this season, with four of those losses coming in their last five matches. Stuttgart have scored one goal in their last five away league games and conceded 11 goals. They have recorded the fewest number of goals in the Bundesliga this season.
Looking ahead to the team news and Borussia Monchengladbach have a couple of key players missing from this match with midfielder Jonas Hofmann and defender Matthias Ginter out with a hip and head injury respectively. Christoph Kramer and Mamadou Doucoure are also out.
Stuttgart will travel without the suspended Santiago Ascacibar and could be without Pablo Maffeo and Holger Badstuber who are being assessed day-to-day. Berkay Ozcan, Borna Sosa and Alexander Meyer are all out.
Everything is pointing towards a home win in this match. Not only will Borussia Monchengladbach expect to win this game but they will hope to score a few goals in the process and keep a clean sheet.