RB Leipzig VS Borussia Monchengladbach - German Bundesliga Match Preview

Match Time：2/28/2021 01:30 Sunday  (GMT+8)

German Bundesliga --  RB Leipzig   VS   Borussia Monchengladbach

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RB Leipzig entertain Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga on Saturday, with the visitors in desperate need of a positive result having failed to win their last four league games. The home side, meanwhile, have closed the gap to Bayern Munich at the top of the table to only two points.

 

Match preview

Indeed, Leipzig bounced back from a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in their Champions League last-16 first leg last week by recording a fourth successive league victory in a 3-0 win at Hertha Berlin. Marcel Sabitzer and Nordi Mukiele were each to blame for the goals Julian Nagelsmann's side conceded to the English champions, but were ironically both on the scoresheet along the way to comfortably dispatching their struggling opponents on Sunday.Sabitzer's strike was a genuine goal of the season contender, with the Austrian midfielder picking up the loose ball over 30 metres from goal before firing a missile-like strike into the sky, with the ball viciously dipping into the top corner, leaving Hertha goalkeeper Rune Jarstein absolutely no chance.Matheus Cunha missed a golden opportunity to level the proceedings after the break by tamely shooting straight at Peter Gulacsi, before Mukiele's thumping effort and Willi Orban's header wrapped up a comfortable victory.Nagelsmann will be keen to maintain the pressure which his side have done so well to re-establish on Bayern in recent weeks by beating Gladbach on Saturday and ensuring the gap between the title contenders remains as one Bayern slip-up at worst. Gladbach may not represent the dangerous opposition they would have prior to the confirmation that their manager Marco Rose will depart for Borussia Dortmund in the summer, with two points in their last four league games seeing them slump to eighth in the table and nine points behind the Champions League qualification positions.Die Fohlen's success in recent years has predominantly been built around a superb home record, but without their fans in support that has somewhat disintegrated this season. Indeed, Rose's side fell to a successive home defeat to a side towards the bottom of the table by losing 2-1 to Mainz 05 last weekend. Perhaps demotivated by the fact their manager is set to leave, Gladbach lacked aggression and intensity from the start, with Jeremiah St Juste's long ball over the top deceiving Matthias Ginter, allowing Karim Onisiwo to run in behind and smash the visitors into the lead. Lars Stindl levelled proceedings with his 10th league goal of the season, but Kevin Stoger scored from the bench for the second successive match to steal a crucial win for the strugglers.Die Fohlen's first ever Champions League knockout match proved to be little more than a damp squib on Wednesday, too, with Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus scoring either side of half time in a comfortable 2-0 win for Manchester City.The hosts did not muster a single shot on target until substitute Hannes Wolf tested Ederson in the dying stages of the game, so they must show more ambition if they are to penetrate the Bundesliga's best defence in Leipzig on Saturday.

 

RB Leipzig Bundesliga form: WLWWWW

RB Leipzig form (all competitions): WWWWLW

 

Borussia Monchengladbach Bundesliga form: WWDLDL

Borussia Monchengladbach form (all competitions): DWLDLL

 

Team News

Leipzig will be without Kevin Kampl, Konrad Laimer and Emil Forsberg due to knee injuries, with Dominik Szoboszlai's groin issue still preventing him from making his debut for the club after signing from Red Bull Salzburg in January.Mukiele and Christopher Nkunku could return to the starting XI after being used from the bench in the win in Berlin, while Dayot Upamecano should slot back into the defence after receiving a rare rest.Gladbach, meanwhile, lost Jonas Hofmann to a leg injury in the final few minutes against Man City, with the Germany international likely to be out for a few weeks.Otherwise, Rose appears to have no injury issues to contend with, so Marcus Thuram and Breel Embolo could come into the side to freshen the attack up.

 

RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:

Gulacsi; Klostermann, Upamecano, Halstenberg; Mukiele, Haidara, Sabitzer, Angelino; Nkunku, Olmo; Poulsen

 

Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:

Sommer; Lainer, Ginter, Elvedi, Bensebaini; Zakaria, Kramer, Neuhaus; Embolo, Stindl, Thuram

 

RB Leipzig VS Borussia Monchengladbach

RB Leipzig 2-1 Borussia Monchengladbach