Borussia Monchengladbach will be looking to bounce back from two disappointing results when they welcome Union Berlin to Borussia-Park in the Bundesliga on Sunday afternoon.
Marco Rose's side have lost to Bayer Leverkusen and drawn with Werder Bremen in their last two games to drop down into fourth position in the table, while Berlin sit 13th with 31 points to show from their 28 matches.
Match preview
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Gladbach recorded a 3-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on their return to Bundesliga action on May 16, but there is no getting away from the fact that the team's last two results have been disappointing.
Indeed, they suffered a 3-1 home defeat to Leverkusen on May 23 before being held to a goalless draw by struggling Werder Bremen on Tuesday night.
Sixteen wins, five draws and seven defeats - that is how Gladbach have performed in the league this season, with a total of 53 points leaving them in fourth, two points off third-placed RB Leipzig.
Rose's team lost 2-0 when they faced Berlin in the reverse match earlier this season, but they have the third-best home record in the Bundesliga this season behind Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich and will fancy their chances of putting an important three points on the board this weekend.
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Last season's playoff success saw Berlin promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in their history, and Urs Fischer's side have certainly shown that they can compete at this level.
Indeed, a total of 31 points from 28 matches has left the newly-promoted outfit in 13th spot in the table, four points clear of 16th-placed Fortuna Dusseldorf on the same number of games.
Fischer's team are far from safe when it comes to the threat of relegation, though, and they have only picked up one point from their three matches since the Bundesliga resumed in the middle of May.
Indeed, successive defeats to Bayern Union and Hertha Berlin were followed by a 1-1 draw against Mainz on Wednesday night, and the capital outfit will be determined to put another three points on the board as soon as possible.
Borussia Monchengladbach Bundesliga form: WLWWLD
Union Berlin Bundesliga form: WDLLLD
Union Berlin form (all competitions): DLLLLD
Team News
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Gladbach will be without the services of centre-back Tony Jantschke through suspension, while Fabian Johnson, Denis Zakaria and Tobias Strobl are also expected to miss out through injury.
Breel Embolo is also unlikely to feature, meaning that Marcus Thuram and Lars Stindl should again provide support to lone forward Alassane Plea in the final third.
Jonas Hofmann is in line to return to the XI, meanwhile, after starting on the bench against Bremen.
As for Berlin, Robert Andrich will miss out following his red card against Mainz last time out, meaning that there could be a spot in the middle of the park for Joshua Mees.
Sheraldo Becker and Akaki Gogia are both still injured, but the capital side did not pick up any other fitness concerns in their last match, meaning that there are not expected to be many changes.
As a result, Marius Bulter, Sebastian Andersson and Marcus Ingvartsen should continue as a front three.
Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Lainer, Ginter, Elvedi, Bensebaini; Kramer, Nauhaus; Hofmann, Stindl, Thuram; Plea
Union Berlin possible starting lineup:
Gikiewicz; Subotic, Schlotterbeck, Friedrich; Trimmel, Gentner, Mees, Ryerson; Bulter, Andersson, Ingvartsen
We say: Borussia Monchengladbach 2-0 Union Berlin
Gladbach will be determined to bounce back this weekend after two disappointing results, and we are finding it difficult to look past the home side. Berlin have the second-worst away record in Germany's top flight this season and could be in for a tough afternoon at Borussia-Park.
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Borussia Monchengladbach win with a probability of 51.51%. A win for Union Berlin had a probability of 26.82% and a draw had a probability of 21.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Borussia Monchengladbach win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.35%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (6.7%) and 2-0 (6.69%). The likeliest Union Berlin win was 1-2 (6.54%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (9.36%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 3.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Borussia Monchengladbach would win this match.
