German Bundesliga - Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Wolfsburg - Preview & Prediction

Still battling for a top-four finish in the Bundesliga this season, 4th-placed Borussia Monchengladbach are about to host 6th-placed Wolfsburg, who have still got work to do to remain in the top-six. Kick-off - at 12:30 PM ET on Tuesday, June 16.

Gladbach Get Edged By Bayern

The hopes of Borussia Monchengladbach to finish in the top-four of the Bundesliga this season were dealt a serious setback after the team suffered a 2-1 defeat against league-leading Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena on Saturday. With top-scorer Marcus Thuram taken off due to injury and a Jonas Hoffman goal disallowed for an offside call in just the first 16 minutes of the game, the Foals were forced to see the reigning champions open the scoring in the 26th minute. And while a Bayern own-goal gave hope to Gladbach just 11 minutes later, the hosts still managed to bank the winner with just four minutes remaining on the clock. Sitting 4th in the league in the time of writing, Borussia Monchengladbach (W17 D5 L9) are still on level points with 5th-placed Bayer Leverkusen, who have a game in hand.

French marksmen Alassane Plea (returning from suspension) and Marcus Thuram (an injury doubt) lead the Foals with 10 strikes each. Goalie Yann Sommer, meanwhile, sits at the very top of the Bundesliga with 123 saves. He has picked up six clean sheets in 31 games this season and gives up a goal every 73 minutes on average. Gladbach has scored the 4th highest number of league goals so far this year (58) while taking the 6th highest quantity of shots per game (13.7). The team is 5th in ball possession (51.7%) and 6th in passing accuracy (81.4%).

Wolfsburg Draw With Freiburg

Wolfsburg failed to gain much headway in their bid to finish 6th in the Bundesliga this season after earning a 2-2 draw against fellow top-six hopefuls Freiburg at Volkswagen Arena on Saturday. The Wolves saw the ball cross the line on four occasions during the first half-an-hour of the contest, but found themselves just 2-0 up through a double by Wout Weghorst, with two other tallies canceled out by VAR. Freiburg did eventually tie the game at 2-2, though, leaving Wolfsburg still sitting 6th in the league (W12 D10 L9), three points ahead of 7th-placed Hoffenheim and four above 8th-placed Freiburg.

Following his two-goal exploits on Saturday, Dutch striker Weghorst has extended his lead at the top of Wolfsburg’s scoring chart in the Bundesliga to 14 markers, with Renato Steffen sitting 2nd with six strikes. Goalie Koen Casteels, meanwhile, has turned away 66 shots in his 23 appearances this year, sitting 17th in most saves in the league. He has recorded five clean sheets and allows a goal every 69 minutes of play. The Wolves are 8th in most goals netted this season (44), 5th in most shots delivered per game (14.2), 9th in ball possession (48.8%), and 15th in passing accuracy (75.6%).

Prediction

Both teams need a win in this one! Borussia Monchengladbach are on the verge of dropping out of the top-four in case Schalke 04 fail to beat Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday, while Wolfsburg sit 6th just three and four points clear of Hoffenheim and Freiburg respectively. With so much at stake, both sides are very much unlikely to throw caution to the wind, making this fixture a very likely contender to end as a draw. Both teams have gotten on the scoreboard in five of the last eight meetings between each other, with 11 of the previous 13 Bundesliga outings of Gladbach also finishing with both opponents scoring. So, do expect at least a snipe from either side here as well!

Best bets:

Draw (+270)

Correct score: 1-1 (+460)