Borussia Monchengladbach vs Borussia Dortmund
So much for Borussia Dortmund’s strong start to 2021. After back-to-back wins to begin the new year, BVB have now dropped points in back-to-back games, which has put their top-four place in the Bundesliga in danger.
One of Dortmund’s main challengers, Borussia Monchengladbach, now have a chance to overtake them in the table if they can get the win in the second Battle of the Borussias this season.
BVB completely outclassed Gladbach in their first meeting, but the Foals are in fine form of late, so the Bundesliga 2021 betting odds will be closer in their favour at Borussia-Park.
Talking Points
Gladbach get key French forward back
Borussia Monchengladbach are finally finding a bit more consistency in the league in 2021. The Foals have started the new year unbeaten in their first four games, with wins over Arminia Bielefeld, Bayern Munich, and Werder Bremen.
Gladbach were so close to making it four wins out of four, too, but they gave away a stoppage-time penalty in a 2-2 draw at Stuttgart.
Thanks to those promising Bundesliga 2021 results, Gladbach are now just one point behind fourth-placed Dortmund.
Gladbach boss Marco Rose, who has been linked with a move to Borussia Dortmund at the end of the season, has done a terrific job keeping the Foals up and running despite the absence of one his top players, Marcus Thuram.
The French forward has missed the last five matches due to suspension for spitting in an opponent’s face. But he has now fully served out his ban and is ready to return to the fold, which will be a massive boost for the Foals.
Fellow French forward Alassane Plea is also back fit after a recent muscle injury and started in their 1-0 win over Werder Bremen. Thuram and Plea have each scored 2 goals in the league this season.
Swiss striker Breel Embolo was dropped after breaching COVID protocol, and it remains to be seen whether he will return to the squad against Dortmund.
Meanwhile, captain and leading scorer Lars Stindl (9 goals) is likely to return to the starting XI after only coming on as a sub against Bremen.
Dortmund in disarray once again
All the positive momentum Borussia Dortmund had built after big wins over Wolfsburg and RB Leipzig were completely wiped away by a home draw to bottom-club Mainz and a 2-1 loss away to Bayer Leverkusen.
Dortmund turned in one of their most disappointing performances of the season against Leverkusen, who came into the match without a win in their last four. They conceded 23 shots, 13 of which were on target.
The vaunted Dortmund attack still created chances of their own, but they were much less clinical as they could only get 3 of their 16 total shots on target.
Dortmund’s defence again looked shaky, as Leverkusen used their pace to exploit them on the counterattack.
They clearly missed defensive midfielder Axel Witsel, who is out for the season after suffering a torn Achilles against Leipzig. Witsel’s replacement, Emre Can, also missed the Leverkusen match due to suspension, but he should be back to face Gladbach.
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland is on a scoring slump, by his remarkably high standards; he has not scored in his last two games. The 20-year-old phenom, who has scored 12 goals in 12 league appearances this season, has yet to go three league matches in a row without a goal in his Dortmund career.
History
Dortmund have completely dominated the Battle of the Borussias in recent years. They have claimed a remarkable 19 wins to Gladbach’s 4 over their last 26 league meetings.
Dortmund beat Gladbach in the opening weekend of this season, 3-0. Giovanni Reyna opened the scoring, then Erling Haaland put the game away a second-half brace.
That win was Dortmund’s 11th in a row against Gladbach. The Foals’ last win against BVB came back in 2015.
Dortmund captain Marco Reus used to play for Gladbach, and he has a terrific record against his former team. He’s accounted for 15 goals (9 goals and 6 assists) in 12 career appearances against his old club.
Dortmund will need a vintage performance from Reus as take on a Gladbach side that has so many dangerous weapons to attack Dortmund’s shaky defence.
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