German Bundesliga : Vfl Wolfsburg vs Borussia Monchengladbach
Vfl Wolfsburg :
Wolfsburg currently stands 9th in the table, with an overall record of 3W 4D 2L, scoring 20 conceding 16. It is at home where they have been impressive, with 3w 1D 0L, scoring 11 conceding 4. Their away form has been their Achilles heel, as they are still winless, although they did give Bayern Munich a hard fight over the weekend, racing to a 2-0 lead in the 1st half before succumbing to a 4-2 loss.
Under Felix Magath, Wolfsburg has gradually transformed into an overall solid team, with good organization and discipline. They are now perennial contenders for European competition every season, and this season is no difference, as they are still in the UEFA Cup competition, and also well placed in the league to mount a challenge for another Euro place.
Being still unbeaten at home, they look set to carry on their good home form from last season, where they lost only 4 games at home. Their 3 home wins this season have come against Armenia Bielfield, Hamburg and Koln, with the solitary draw against Frankfurt. Perhaps the most impressive win was against high flying Hamburg, as they achieved a dominant 3-0 win.
Borussia Monchengladbach :
Monchengladbach achieved promotion to the Bundesliga this season by virtue of finishing champions of the 2. Liga. Although they impressed in the 2. Liga., it must be said that the playing level between the 1st and 2nd division still has a substantial gap. This season, Borussia has been struggling, as they lie in 17th place, with a poor record of 2W 1D 6L, scoring 9 conceding 17. They are still without a win on their travels, picking up only 1 pt from their 4 away games, scoring 3 and conceding 9 goals.
It seems that Borussia have made the climb up too early, as although they won the 2 Liga, their squad is really finding the climb in level too difficult. Although they have a relatively good squad, Borussia is playing extremely poor. Their fans can only hope that a change in coach will bring better results, and the signs are encouraging, with a 1-0 home win against Karlsruher and a 2-2 away draw against Bochum in their last 2 games.
Away from home, Borussia have suffered defeats against Hamburg, Hannover and Hoffenheim. Not really that bad, as Hamburg and Hoffenheim are in the top half of the table, but rather it was how badly they performed in those games that is the key.
H2H :
In the last 10 yrs, Wolfsburg have played Borussia 8 times at home, with a good record of 6W 0D 2L, scoring 17 conceding 8. Wolfsburg have won the last 3 meetings between the 2 teams at home.
Team News :
Wolfsburg has not much missing players to worry about, with only doubts about 1-2 players. Monchengladbach will be missing a clutch of players, and that will without doubt weaken their chances further for this match.
Conclusion :
Magath has set a UEFA spot for his team to achieve this season, and with the strong performances they have shown so far, Wolfsburg looks set to achieve the target. Their home performances have been strong, and Wolfsburg know that they have to capitalize on this good home form this season to achieve good results.
Although they have been some signs of Monchengladbach improving under their new coach, however both games were not against very strong teams. I have no doubt that they have the chance to escape relegation if they carry on with the improvement, but I feel that this game against Wolfsburg has come too early for them, and perhaps Monchengladbach will be looking to escape with just a narrow loss.
Bet :
Vfl Wolfsburg -1