Do the Foals confirm their good starts?
Just a few seconds were missing for Borussia from Mönchengladbach to start the season perfectly with six points from two games. However, a justified penalty after a handball by Patrick Herrmann provided the lucky last-minute equaliser in the match between S04 and the Foals last Saturday evening. Nevertheless, the team from the Lower Rhine must be credited with a very solid start to the season.
The task now is to build on this in the home match against the “old lady” from the capital. Ahead of Friday night’s match between Gladbach and Hertha, the odds point to the Foals as favourites. No wonder, as the former German champions have won seven of their nine home games against their upcoming opponents since the 2013/14 season.
The impressions so far in the still young season also ensure that a home win is traded as the most probable match outcome by the betting providers with a German licence. While BMG, as mentioned above, have four points to their name, last season’s relegation contenders are once again in the bottom third of the table with just one point. In order to make a prediction on the guest in the Gladbach vs. Hertha duel, you need a bit of imagination and a willingness to take risks
Gladbach – Statistics & current form
Although Borussia Mönchengladbach’s squad hasn’t changed that much compared to the previous season, there is a lot of talk in the media and internally about a new start. The background to this is the messed-up last season, at the end of which Adi Hütter had to take his leave and was replaced by Daniel Farke. Under the Westphalian-born coach, the team from the Lower Rhine has rediscovered its love of football.
This was also evident in the first three competitive matches of the new season. In the DFB Cup, the Foals warmed up with a 9:1 victory over Oberachern. This was followed by a commanding home win against TSG Hoffenheim (3:1) in the Bundesliga opener and the aforementioned 2:2 draw at FC Schalke 04, where they would have deserved an away win thanks to a clear improvement in performance after the second half.
Gladbach convince again with attacking football
While in preparation it was the often too harmless and not very effective attack that caused headaches for the coaching team and certainly also for some fans, the attack is currently the team’s showpiece. With Thuram, Plea, Neuhaus and Hofmann, all four nominal offensive players have plenty of individual quality. In addition, the team’s captain Lars Stindl trained with the team again during the week after recovering from injury and could be in the squad for the first time this season.
When we write about the good offensive, we also have to mention the strength after standards. Borussia has already scored three goals from corner kicks. In comparison: In the entire 2021/22 second half of the season, there were only four goals of this kind. In addition, Friday night will be the fourth home win in a row this season. Such a series was last seen in the autumn/winter of 19/20.
Predicted line-up of Gladbach:
Sommer – Scally, Itakura, Elvedi, Bensebaini – Kramer, Koné – Hofmann, Neuhaus, Plea – Thuram
Last matches played by Gladbach:
Bundesliga
13/08/2022 – Schalke 04 2 – 2 Gladbach
06/08/2022 – Gladbach 3 – 1 Hoffenheim
DFB Cup
31/07/2022 – SV Oberachern 1 – 9 Gladbach
Friendly club matches
23/07/2022 – Gladbach 1 – 1 Real Sociedad
20/07/2022 – Gladbach 1 – 1 RKC Waalwijk
Hertha – Statistics & current form
The new season is not even three matchdays old and yet there are already many indications that the “old lady” will again face an extremely complicated season with many worries in 2022/23. The Berlin team was eliminated in the first main round of the DFB Cup by second-division team Eintracht Braunschweig, despite leading 2:0 in the meantime. This was followed by a bitter derby defeat at Union Berlin (1:3) and a satisfactory 1-1 draw against the Europa League champions from Frankfurt.
But it remains to be seen whether this draw against Eintracht, who were also selling themselves far short, can actually be considered a positive result. The fact is that coach Sandro Schwarz’s team still has a lot of room for improvement. Both in their forward play and in their defence, which still seems anything but solid.
Hertha lacks Bundesliga fitness in 2022
The fact that Gladbach are clearly favoured against Hertha according to the odds certainly has something to do with the fact that no other current Bundesliga team has collected fewer points than the “Big City Club” in the calendar year 2022. Only 13 points have been collected so far. Across the season, the capital has now waited five matches in the top flight for a three-point win (two draws, three defeats).
The surprising statistic that the “old lady” has always scored at least one goal in the last ten Bundesliga matches gives a little more hope. The last time the Berliners failed to score a goal was in March of this year. At that time, too, they were guests at Borussia Park and lost 0:2 to Mönchengladbach. A bad omen for Friday evening?
Meanwhile, there continues to be unrest internally. Long-time number one Rune Jarstein was suspended the previous week and will not play another game for the capital club. Gechter, Lee, Ngankam and Nsona will be missing due to injury. Question marks are behind Plattenhardt, Maolida and Scherhant. We expect five newcomers in the starting eleven; with Boetius, who came from Mainz, possibly even a sixth.
Predicted line-up of Hertha:
Christensen – Kenny, Uremovic, Kempf, Mittelstädt – Sunjic – Tousart, S. Serdar – Lukebakio, Kanga, Ejuke
Last matches played by Hertha:
Bundesliga
13/08/2022 – Hertha BSC 1 – 1 Eintracht Frankfurt
06/08/2022 – Union Berlin 3 – 1 Hertha BSC
DFB Cup
31/07/2022 – Braunschweig (6)4 – 4(5) Hertha BSC
Friendly club matches
23/07/2022 – West Bromwich 2 – 1 Hertha BSC
21/07/2022 – Nottingham Forest 3 – 1 Hertha BSC
Gladbach – Hertha Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
Borussia Park has not been a good place for the “old lady” in recent years. Since the re-promotion in 2013/14, seven of the past nine guest games at the Niederrhein have been lost. In the same period, the Berliners have not lost more often to any other team than to the Foals. Hertha have only had the upper hand in three of the last eleven direct duels against Gladbach. Our Gladbach vs. Hertha tip in favour of the home side is therefore also supported by the Head-to-Head.
Gladbach – Hertha Tip
Sandro Schwarz has never won a Bundesliga match against Gladbach in his career as a coach. It is unlikely that this will change on Friday evening at Borussia Park of all places. Gladbach are clearly favoured against Hertha according to the betting odds, which is in line with their impressions so far in the still young season.
Borussia has shown very good approaches in phases, while the capitals are once again struggling with themselves. Since seven of the past nine home games against the upcoming opponents have gone to the Foals and the personnel situation of Farke’s team looks extremely rosy, there can only be one winner for us on Friday night.
We therefore dispense with any odds boosters and play the isolated tip on the home win between Gladbach and Hertha.
If you want to take a little more risk, you can also take a look at the double result HT1/FT1.
