Borussia Monchengladbach v FC Bayern Munich preview, predicted XI, team news and more

Title challengers Borussia Monchengladbach will host defending champions Bayern Munich in the match week 14 of the Bundesliga. In this season's ultra-competitive German League, the two teams face each other in the most unfamiliar circumstances. It will be the first time since 1997, that the home side are ahead of the Bavarians in the league table.

Bayern Munich have had an inconsistent start to the season. They have lost three matches to teams below them in the league table and drew a further 3. The unrest in the Bavarian camp was reflected in the sacking of manager Niko Kovac, for the unexpected results and the lacklustre performances both home and away.

The away side's interim head coach is Hans-Dieter Flick and they lost their previous Bundesliga match at The Allianz Arena against Bayern Leverkusen. The defending champions will need a positive result against the hosts in the upcoming high stakes fixture.

Under new manager Marco Rose, Borrusia Monchengladbach have been the surprise package of the season so far. Although they've lost the same amount of matches as Bayern Munich, the league leaders have won two more than their upcoming opponents.

Monchengladbach have dealt with the loss of Thorgan Hazard very well by signing attacking players such as Breel Embolo and Marcus Thuram. With a win over the defending champions Bayern Munich, the Foals will be strong favourites for the title this year.

Head to Head

As suggested by previous results, both the teams have been equally successful in head-to-head contests. In their last 4 meetings in the Bundesliga, the two teams have won two matches each in the last two seasons.

More than 3 goals were scored in each of the last 4 matches between the 2 sides. Bayern Munich are second in terms of goals scored with 34 goals. Whereas, Borussia Monchengladbach are the third-highest scorers with 28 goals.

Borussia Monchengladbach form guide: W-W-L-W-W

Bayern Munich form guide: W-L-W-W-L

Team news

Niklas Sule is expected to be out of the match. The German center half is in rehabilitation as per the official website of the Bavarians. Further, Lucas Hernandez did not take part in the training session and is also expected to be out of the match on Saturday.

Bayern Munich might again go with the defensive partnership of Javi Martinez and David Alaba in the centre-half position. Neither the home side nor the away side have any player out with suspensions.

Injuries: Niklas Sule, Lucas Hernandez

Suspensions: none

Predicted XI

Bayern Munich Predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Manuel Neuer, Benjamin Pavard, Javi Martinez, David Alaba, Alphonso Davies, Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, Thomas Muller, Leon Goretzka, Ivan Perisic, Robert Lewandowski.

Borussia Monchengladbach Predicted XI (4-3-3): Yann Sommer, Stefan Lainer, Tony Jantschke, Nico Elvedi, Ramy Bensebaini, Florian Neuhaus, Denis Zakaria, Laszlo Benes, Patrick Herrmann, Marcus Thuram, Breel Embolo.

Prediction

Although the season is still in a relatively early stage, a positive result in the upcoming top-of-the-table clash will give the winning side a momentum that can push them towards the title.

Borussia Monchengladbach have lost their matches against Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, both of whom are deemed to be title contenders for this season.

Whereas, the Bavarians haven't lost to teams competing for the title so far. Considering the experience of the squad and results in this season, Bayern Munich are better suited to winning in crunch top-of-the-table matches as compared to Borussia Monchengladbach.

That being said, Bayern are too heavily dependent on Robert Lewandowski for goals. The Polish striker has scored 16 out of the 34 goals Bayern have scored so far. Whereas, the home side have 10 different goalscorers so far this season.

If the home side can stop Robert Lewandowski from scoring, their chances of winning the match will increase manifold.

Verdict - Borussia Monchengladbach 1-2 FC Bayern Munich