Now let’s take a look at a very important match from the German Bundesliga, where two teams that are looking for a top 6 placement are clashing against each other on Saturday, April 1st, as Gladbach are hosted by Frankfurt. Both teams are coming off unsuccessful streaks before the international break, as Frankfurt are winless in their last 6 league matches, while Gladbach are winless in their last 4 matches in all competitions. However, Gladbach have historically challenged Frankfurt on the road, and I believe that they can escape with at least one point from this affair.
Gladbach (9-11-5) fought hard for a result against league leaders Bayern Munich, but they were eventually defeated by 1-0 at home. Bayern Munich showed their superiority from the start of the match as they created a ton of scoring chances, but their goal eventually came at the 63rd minute. Gladbach really fought with all they had for an equalizer, but they were unable to deliver. That was the 2nd consecutive loss in the league, and their 4th consecutive unsuccessful result in all competitions, as they were also defeated in both matches against Schalke for the Europa League in between, and were eliminated. Gladbach will now look for a European ticket for next season either through the German Cup (where they will be facing Frankfurt in the semi-finals) or through a top 6 finish in the Bundesliga. However, they are still sitting at the 10th spot with 32 points, 5 points behind the top 6. They will be looking to utilize their rejuvenated offensive line, that has produced goals in 7 of their last 8 matches (5-3-0). Overall, they have scored 30 goals against 34 conceded, but their performances on the road have been far from good. They havea 3-7-2 record on the road, where they have only scored 10 goals against 22 conceded. They will be coming into this match with a hanfdul of absences, as Kramer and Nicolas are injured, while Dahoud, Johnson and Traore are still listed as doubts.
On the other hand, Frankfurt (10-9-6) are coming off a bad performance, especially in the offensive end, as they were held to a goal-less draw at home by Hamburg. It was a mediocre match as neither team were willing to risk, as they settled for the draw. That match proved that Frankfurt are going through a slump lately, as they are winless in their last 6 league matches (0-5-1). After an excellent start to the season that found them sitting at the 4th spot, Frankfurt have slowed down significantly in the new year. Even so, they are now called to return to positive reults immediately, but they haven’t been able to win any of their last 3 league matches at home (0-2-1), where they only scored a single goal. However, these have been their first losses at home, where they have a 6-2-4 record so far in the season, having scored 17 goals against 11 conceded. Overall, they have scored 26 goals so far, against 27 conceded. They will be coming into this match with quite a few absences, as Mascarell, Medojevic, Meier and Regasel are all unavailable, while Hasebe and Varela are still listed as doubtful to participate.