A place in the quarter-final of the DFB-Pokal will be at stake when Borussia Monchengladbach play host to Wolfsburg on Tuesday.
The hosts will have the chance to claim consecutive victories, while the visitors are looking for a response after falling to defeat in Saturday's meeting with Bochum.
Match preview
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Gerardo Seoane's Gladbach side will head into Tuesday's contest off the back of a positive run of results, having won four of their last six competitive matches (D1, L1), including Saturday's home clash with Hoffenheim.
Alassane Plea opened the scoring in the second, dispatching his spot kick to register his sixth goal of the season, before Hoffenheim hit back within two minutes through Wout Weghorst.
Despite seeing their lead wiped out within two minutes, Die Fohlen kept their composure to claim all three points thanks to Nathan Ngoumou's 80th-minute winner, ensuring that Gladbach finished matchday 13 in ninth place with 16 points to their name.
They will now put their league campaign on hold to focus on their third cup game of the season after thrashing Bersenbruck 7-0 and beating Heidenheim 3-1 to secure their place in the last 16.
Gladbach, who last won the Pokal in 1994-95, are looking to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2020-21 season, and they will also be hoping to continue their impressive home form, having won each of their last four competitive matches at Borussia-Park.
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In contrast to their hosts, Niko Kovac's side are experiencing an inconsistent spell of results, with their last five competitive games producing two wins, one draw and two defeats.
Both of those victories were against RB Leipzig, including a 1-0 win in the second round of the cup, while one of those two defeats took place against Tuesday's opponents after they fell to a heavy 4-0 loss when they made the trip to Borussia-Park earlier this month.
In their most recent outing, Wolfsburg suffered a disappointing 3-1 defeat against Bochum – a result which represented their sixth consecutive away loss and left them level on points with Gladbach but one place behind in 10th position.
Like their opponents, the 2014-15 Pokal winners are aiming to reach the quarter-final stage for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign, as they dream about winning the competition for just the second time in their history.
Having failed to win their last eight head-to-head meetings, die Wolfe are looking to beat Gladbach for the first time since claiming a 2-1 Bundesliga victory in December 2019.
Team News
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Gladbach are still unable to call upon Jonas Onlim, Ko Itakura, Tony Jantschke, Jordan and Hannes Wolf due to injury issues.
They also have doubts over the availability of Maximilian Wober, Julian Weigl and Tomas Cvancara after the trio missed Saturday's win over Hoffenheim.
Defender Nico Elvedi was forced off with an injury at the weekend, and he will have to be assessed ahead of Tuesday's cup meeting.
As for the visitors, midfielder Patrick Wimmer and forward Felix Nmecha remain sidelined with ankle and knee injuries respectively.
Maximilian Arnold, Amin Sarr, Sebastiaan Bornauw all missed Saturday's defeat to Bochum, and remain doubts for the midweek cup tie.
Denmark international Joakim Maehle could be brought into the side after recovering from illness to make a substitute appearance at the weekend.
Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Nicolas; Scally, Chiarodia, Friedrich; Honorat, Kone, Neuhaus, Reitz, Netz; Ngoumou, Plea
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Casteels; Lacroix, Zesiger, Jenz; Maehle, Vranckx, Svanberg, Rogerio; Majer, Cerny, Wind
We say: Borussia Monchengladbach X-Y Wolfsburg
Gladbach have already beaten Wolfsburg at Borussia-Park this month, and we think that the hosts will make full use of home advantage again to edge out die Wolfe and secure their place in the last 16 of the Pokal.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
