FC Barcelona travel to Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Champions League
Barcelona have a challenging tie away from home against a talented Borussia Mönchengladbach side.
Form
Fresh from a 5-0 victory against Sporting Gijón, Barcelona are looking strong going in to this match. Over the last five games, Barcelona have won three, drawn one and lost one game. The loss against Alavés can be counted as an anomaly of sorts due to various factors such as squad rotation. Also, the draw was against Atlético Madrid who are one of the toughest sides to play in Europe. Therefore the form slightly hides the fact that Barça are currently playing great football. Nineteen goals in five games shows how explosive they have been in an attacking sense.
Mönchengladbach have been inconsistent so far this season, although they do seem to be much stronger at home. Each of their games at home have been wins, so they could be a formidable opponent to overcome for Barça. Their last match was against Ingolstadt at home with Mönchengladbach winning 2-0 with goals from Lars Stindl and Oscar Wendt. However, their first Champions League game was a 4-0 loss to Manchester City in which they were absolutely dominated. Realistically Gladbach are fighting Manchester City for second in the group, so any points picked up against Barça is a bonus. Nevertheless, the early loss means that they will be desperate to get some points which could prove to be their undoing.
Squads
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Barcelona have two key injuries with Lionel Messi out with a groin injury, and Samuel Umtiti has a knee injury. Neymar should be able to make up for the absence of Messi due to his playmaking ability, and Luis Suárez provides the goals. However, Javier Mascherano replaces Umtiti, and he is struggling for form currently which provides Mönchengladbach with an opportunity to exploit. Thankfully, Barcelona have Sergio Busquets fit to play with his injury against Atletico Madrid being minor. Without him there would have been genuine worries for Barça due to his ability to control a match. Gladbach have a few injuries, but none to key players which is good news for them going in to the match. This means that they have plenty of pace to bring on from the bench, so they will be a constant danger on the counter-attack throughout the match.
History
These two teams have never played each other in a major European competition before, so this is making history. However, these two have played each other before in the Joan Gamper Trophy, so it’s not the first game ever between the two. An interesting subplot for the game is that Marc-André ter Stegen is returning to the club which he started with, so it’s sure to be an emotional night for him.
Playing Style
Mönchengladbach are experts at playing counter-attacking football with pace and directness being key aspects of this. The Westphalians are organised at the back as well due to their reliance on soaking up pressure, so they will be hard to break down. Possession is not important to how they play, so they will be happy for Barca to dictate the tempo of the game. Therefore having Sergio Busquets and Gerard Piqué fit for the match is vital due to their intelligence and positioning. Barcelona should win this, but they have to be wary of the pacy players on the counter-attack. If the defence is able to deal with that threat then Neymar and co. should be able to break down the stubborn Gladbach defence.
Prediction: Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-3 Barcelona