Will the Werkself continue their recent streak?
Both Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen had imagined the 2022/23 season would be a little different.
Instead of fighting for a European competition – preferably for participation in the Champions League – the Foals, however, only occupy eighth place. The Werkself is even only in twelfth place with four points less on their account. Nevertheless, according to the bookmakers’ quotes, tip 2 is the more likely result for Gladbach against Leverkusen.
Finally, the Werkself won their last three league games in a row and experienced a clear upward trend. However, the home strength of the team from the Lower Rhine should not be ignored in the forecast for Gladbach against Leverkusen. Only RB Leipzig (19) have scored more points in front of their own fans than Borussia (18) so far in the 2022/23 season, which puts them in second place in the Bundesliga home table.
While the home record certainly argues for a point win for the Foals, Bayer Leverkusen also have the “head to head” record to throw into the balance in addition to the momentum from three recent victories in a row. The Rhinelanders have won all of their last five Bundesliga encounters with Gladbach. Moreover, Leverkusen have not scored more goals against any other Bundesliga team than against the Foals (152).
Accordingly, it is coherent to avoid the three-way system in this match, which is difficult to assess. Instead, we recommend the combined bet on both teams scoring and a total of over 2.5 goals.
Gladbach – Statistics & current form
After a sobering tenth place in the final table of the 2021/22 season, there was a shake-up in the Borussia Mönchengladbach camp in the summer. Daniel Farke took over as coach, while the squad also underwent a number of changes.
After 15 match days, the five-time German champions are divided in their conclusions. With 22 points, the team from the Lower Rhine is currently only in eighth place in the table and is already five points behind a Champions League starting place, which they were certainly hoping for, at least secretly.
The second best home team in the Bundesliga
The Foals have shown two completely different faces so far. On the one hand, Gladbach have shown their usual strength in their own stadium, winning six of the eight home games at Borussia-Park so far and picking up the second most home points behind RB Leipzig in the first 15 match days.
On the other hand, this strong performance at home contrasts with a miserable performance away from home. The Foals scored only four of a possible 21 points away from home. Borussia is the only team apart from Stuttgart and Schalke that is still winless away from home.
Last five defeats in a row against Leverkusen
All the more reason why the team from the Lower Rhine should be in their element at the re-start of the Bundesliga when they welcome the in-form Werkself to their own stadium. Nevertheless, the betting odds on Gladbach against Leverkusen are in favour of the visitors, which is also due to the fact that the last five league games in a row against Bayer 04 were all lost.
The Foals, who are likely to have new signing Jonas Omlin in goal following the departure of Yann Sommer to Bayern, will not go into the NRW clash with an old rival without a chance.
Predicted line-up of Gladbach:
Omlin – Bensebaini – Elvedi – Itakura – Scally – Koné – Weigl – Kramer – Plea – Hofmann – Thuram
Last matches played by Gladbach:
Friendly club matches
14/01/2023 – Gladbach 0 – 1 St. Pauli
11/01/2023 – Arminia Bielefeld 0 – 4 Gladbach
07/01/2023 – Gladbach 2 – 0 Oldenburg
Bundesliga
12/11/2022 – Gladbach 4 – 2 Borussia Dortmund
09/11/2022 – VfL Bochum 2 – 1 Gladbach
Leverkusen – Statistics & current form
Bayer Leverkusen have never won the German championship, but have nevertheless advanced to become a figurehead of German football over the last three decades. In the 2022/23 season, the Werkself represented the Bundesliga in the UEFA Champions League for the 13th time in history, even reaching the final in 2002.
However, the third-placed team in the previous season was unable to make a real splash in the top flight. The Rhinelanders won just one of their six group games and only qualified for the Europa League intermediate round in third place.
Three wins in a row with 9:1 goals
Parallel to this, the Werkself even had to fear relegation in league play for a while. Only two of the first twelve league games were won. But then, under Seoane’s successor Xabi Alonso, the knot finally burst shortly before the World Cup break.
Bayer 04 recently celebrated three victories in a row in league play with 9:1 goals, played to nil on two occasions, and with a bang took themselves out of the bottom third of the table and reduced the gap to the top six to seven points. Nevertheless, the Rhinelanders still have a long road to Europe ahead of them.
Will the Werkself now start to catch up?
Much will now depend on whether the recent momentum at the false starter has survived the World Cup break. If Leverkusen can continue their winning streak at home to Gladbach, and if the bet on the Alonso eleven winning a point at Gladbach vs. Leverkusen is correct, a sustained run to catch up is well within the realms of possibility.
The fact that the sometimes very full hospital has emptied bit by bit during the interruption by the World Cup speaks in favour of the Werkself. A total of three players are still out. However, Florian Wirtz alone, who is ready for action again, has the potential to turn the tide for the Rhinelanders.
Predicted Leverkusen line-up:
Hradecky – Bakker – Hincapie – Tah – Tapsoba – Frimpong – Andrich – Palacios – Wirtz – Diaby – Adli
Last matches played by Leverkusen:
Club friendlies
15/01/2023 – Bayer Leverkusen 1 – 0 FC Copenhagen
07/01/2023 – Bayer Leverkusen 2 – 1 Venice
17/12/2022 – Bayer Leverkusen 4 – 1 FC Zurich
10/12/2022 – Rangers 3 – 0 Bayer Leverkusen
17/11/2022 – St. Louis City 2 0 – 3 Bayer Leverkusen
Gladbach – Leverkusen Direct comparison / H2H balance
Head to head: 30 – 31 – 42
There have been a total of 103 meetings between the two teams so far and Leverkusen lead the direct comparison with 42 victories. The Werkself have had a real run against the Foals, especially in recent seasons, and have won all of the last five encounters.
Gladbach – Leverkusen Tip
Both teams have valid arguments for winning a point. While Gladbach’s home strength speaks for itself, Leverkusen has the momentum and the “head to head” comparison on its side. This makes it extremely difficult to predict the outcome of Gladbach vs Leverkusen after the ten-week break, especially as it is unclear where both teams stand after the World Cup break.
Meanwhile, we expect both teams to play for victory in this NRW clash, which could well result in a high-scoring affair at Borussia-Park. A lot of value is provided by betting on over 2.5 goals with goals on both sides.
