Borussia Monchengladbach are in a bad place, and the worst may be yet to come, as they will host Bayern Munich on Saturday, and the Bavarians are having the best form we have ever seen from a team in the early weeks of a season.
A total of 17 Bundesliga teams have won at least one match this season and Borussia Monchengladbach are not one of them. The Foals are the only winless team in the league and sit dead last in the table, equalling their worst-ever start to a top flight campaign. Even after the latest managerial change, Gladbach’s supporters have had few reasons for optimism, and facing this otherworldly Bayern Munich side doesn’t sound optimal right now.
The Bavarians became the first-ever team from Europe’s Top 5 leagues to achieve 11 consecutive wins at the start of a campaign, beating Borussia Dortmund’s record of 10 from a little under a decade ago. A couple more Bundesliga wins and they will beat their own record for the best Bundesliga start too. The champions look completely unbeatable right now, but losing to the last in the league is not something we haven’t seen in the past either.
How the bookies view it: Extreme away advantage
As usual, the Bavarians have an overwhelming betting advantage, which makes it almost pointless to look at the regular markets. For your information, you can back Borussia Monchengladbach at 10/1, the draw at 6/1, or Bayern Munich at 1/5.
Recent head-to-head: Borussia once won five times
Bayern Munich have had their fair share of problems at Borussia-Park in the past, but few would bet against this particular Bayern side. Home team fans can take a crumb of comfort from the fact they beat Bayern in five of the last 10 home matches. But the Bavarians won the last four H2Hs, while they also kept clean sheets in both games last season.
Players to watch: Olise to Kane for another record
What this season has shown us is that you can never go wrong with a Harry Kane pick. The Englishman has now scored in eight consecutive Bayern Munich fixtures. Overall, he contributed at least one goal in 11 out of 12 matches this season and this is not counting his goals for England during the international breaks.
But you can also watch out for Michael Olise if you want better odds. The 23-year-old French international needs a boost of confidence, as he has not had many direct contributions lately, but he was involved in all three of Bayern’s goals against Monchengladbach last season. And we know it is only a matter of time before he shows up once again.
Probable line-ups
Borussia Monchengladbach: Nicolas, Ullrich, Diks, Elvedi, Scally, Reitz, Engelhardt, Sander, Castrop, Honorat, Tabakovic
Bayern Munich: Neuer, Boey, Upamecano, Tah, Laimer, Kimmich, Goretzka, Diaz, Gnabry, Olise, Kane
Anything else catch the eye?
It’s simply impossible not to predict another Bayern Munich win here, although we all know this streak is going to end at some point and there’s a good chance it will happen against the most unexpected opponent. But Borussia Monchengladbach have not given any reasons for us to believe they can cause such an upset.
The Foals have conceded 15 goals – the third-most in the league so far, and also have the weakest attack with just six goals scored. We expect the Bavarians to claim the three points again and possibly keep a clean sheet for the fifth time this season.
GambleAware