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Two sides with contrasting seasons so far will clash on Saturday in the Bundesliga as lowly Arminia Bielefeld host Champions League hopefuls Borussia Monchengladbach.
Arminia have spent most of the season in the bottom half of the table. They will look to build a bit of momentum after the much-needed win against Schalke before the mini-break.
Monchengladbach, on the other hand, went through a difficult run of results and could not stop their free-fall down the table. A run of four games without a win means they will begin the new year eighth in the league table.
Despite their poor run, Monchengladbach are still only six points behind Wolfsburg, who occupy fourth. Marco Rose’s side can ill afford to drop points against teams like Arminia if they want to qualify for the Champions League.
Arminia Bielefeld vs Borussia Monchengladbach Head-to-Head
It was always going to be a tough season for the newly-promoted Arminia. Unsurprisingly, they have picked up positive results against teams in the bottom half of the league table.
Nevertheless, performances on the pitch have improved and they are playing with zeal. If they can beat Monchengladbach for work-rate, they could possibly get a favorable result come Saturday.
Monchengladbach will feel the break came at the right time, but they must not underestimate Arminia. The last competitive meeting between the two sides came in 2015 in the DFB Pokal, a game that Arminia Bielefeld won on penalties.
That was a shock result of epic proportions as Monchengladbach had a settled side with the likes of Granit Xhaka, Christoph Kramer, Max Kruse and Thorgan Hazard.
Arminia Bielefeld form guide: L-W-L-L-W
Borussia Monchengladbach form guide: W-D-D-D-L
Arminia Bielefeld vs Borussia Monchengladbach Team News
Arminia Bielefeld
Arminia are likely to be without forward Andreas Voglsammer, and he will be a big miss. Fabian Klos will once again be expected to score the goals.
Amos Pieper and Manuel Prietl have recovered from their respective injuries, and are expected to start on Saturday. Joakim Nilsson and Arne Maier are likely to miss out.
Injured: Andreas Voglsammer, Joakim Nilsson
Doubtful: Noel Niemann, Arne Maier
Suspended: None
Borussia Monchengladbach
Marcus Thuram lost his head in the last Bundesliga game against Hoffenheim, and has been suspended for five games for spitting at an opponent. Jonas Hofmann is still not match fit, while Ramy Bensebaini’s involvement is in doubt as he recovers from COVID-19.
The big worry is Alassane Plea’s fitness. Though he has trained, he may not be ready to play an entire 90 minutes.
Injured: None
Doubtful: Ramy Bensebaini, Jonas Hofmann, Alassane Plea
Suspended: Marcus Thuram
Arminia Bielefeld vs Borussia Monchengladbach Predicted Lineups
Arminia Bielefeld predicted XI (4-4-2): Stefan Ortega; Nathan de Medina, Amos Pieper, Mike Van der Hoorn, Cedric Brunner; Manuel Prietl, Marcel Hartel, Cebio Soukou, Ritsu Doan; Fabian Klos, Sergio Cordova
Borussia Monchengladbach predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Yann Sommer; Stefan Lainer, Matthias Ginter, Nico Elvedi, Oscar Wendt; Florian Neuhaus, Denis Zakaria; Hannes Wolf, Lars Stindl, Valentino Lazaro; Breel Embolo
Arminia Bielefeld vs Borussia Monchengladbach Prediction
The away side have too much quality, and we expect them to finally get their act together after the break. A clean sheet might elude Rose’s side, but they will be worth the three points.
Predicted Score: Arminia Bielefeld 1-3 Borussia Monchengladbach
