Borussia Monchengladbach go into their affair against Werder Bremen on Tuesday afternoon at Borussia-Park kicking themselves after throwing away two points against Stuttgart this past weekend. A recent surge of results had seen the Foals come right back into the Champions League conversation, but Ramy Bensebaini's careless error could cost them dearly. The Algerian left back fouled Sasa Kalajdzic in the 94th minute to give Stuttgart a penalty, and the spot-kick was dispatched by Silas Wamangituka.
As for Bremen, a 2-0 win over Augsburg now gives them real breathing room in the fight for Bundesliga survival. After last seasons relegation dogfight, this term has been a significant improvement with Florian Kohfeldt's men currently sitting 12th, six points above the relegation play-off spot. A big reason for this is their improved home form, as even though it is hardly spectacular, it has been a sizeable upturn from the disastrous form they showed last season at the Wohninvest Weserstadion, where they only won twice for the entirety of the campaign.
Team news
Borussia Monchengladbach - Breel Embolo will miss the affair with Bremen after breaking COVID-19 protocol in the aftermath of Saturday's game, while Marcus Thuram will miss out as he completes his five game suspension. Valentino Lazaro is the only other absentee for the Foals due to a muscle problem.
Werder Bremen - Star striker Niklas Fullkrug is likely to miss out with an ankle injury while Christian Gross and Ludwig Augustinsson have respective calf and muscle problems. Patrick Erras is also likely to miss out with a hip injury, but Milot Rashica could feature in some capacity even if he can't start.
Predicted lineups
Borussia Monchengladbach - Yann Sommer; Stefan Lainer, Nico Elvedi, Matthias Ginter, Ramy Bensebaini; Florian Neuhaus, Christoph Kramer; Patrick Herrmann, Lars Stindl, Jonas Hofmann; Alassane Plea
Werder Bremen - Jiri Pavlenka; Omer Toprak, Milos Veljkovic, Marco Friedl; Theodor Gebre Selassie, Jean-Manuel Mbom, Kevin Mohwald, Max Eggestein, Felix Agu; Davie Selke, Josh Sargent
Form guide
Borussia Monchengladbach - LWWWD
Werder Bremen - WWLDW
Ones to watch
Borussia Mönchengladbach - With multiple attacking players suffering from injury and suspension problems throughout this season, club captain Lars Stindl has shown that age is just a number. He's got nine goals to his name already this season as well as the Bundesliga Player Of The Month award for December. The 32 year old was integral in the recent win against Bayern Munich with two assists, and with the likes of Alassane Plea and Marcus Thuram missing substantial parts of the campaign, super Stindl has more than stepped up in their absence.
Werder Bremen - From one player nearing the twilight of his career to one who is just coming into the limelight, young full back Felix Agu announced himself to the Bundesliga in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Augsburg. A goal and an assist on his debut from left wingback certainly was someway to making a positive impression. The question now is, can he repeat this performance against tougher opposition as regular left back Ludwig Augustinsson remains injured? Only time will tell.
Previous meetings
Bremen have struggled in this matchup in recent years, with their last victory against the Foals coming in 2015. The common theme has either been a Gladbach win or draw, with last seasons encounter at Borussia-Park ending in a 3-1 win for the hosts while the reverse fixture ended 0-0.
Where to watch
This game will be broadcasted live in the UK on BT Sport 3 at 17:30 GMT, while fans in the United States can see the game on ESPN+.
What the managers have said
Borussia Monchengladbach, Marco Rose - "Over the last three weeks, Werder have tended to play with a three or five-man back line. We will wait and see what Florian Kohfeldt decides to do tomorrow. Our aim will always be to find our way forward to threaten up front."
Werder Bremen, Florian Kohfeldt - "Borussia Monchengladbach have done some outstanding work in the last few years and developed really strongly as a club. Not for nothing are they competing for a Champions League place on a regular basis."