Borussia Monchengladbach v Vfl Bochum
Football ; Germany : Relegation Play Off
Borussia Park
Thursday, 19th May 2011- kickoff 20:30

Borussia Monchengladbach

The recent series of fantastic results gave Borussia M`gladbach a chance to play in the playoffs where they can save their Bundesliga status. In the last four matches of the season. Borussia M`gladbach have collected ten points and more importantly their defense has been much tighter in the last couple of months.

Their goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has been in superb form and in the last six Bundesliga matches, he had conceded just three goals.

The team home form has also been on the rise and since coach Favre took over Borussia M`gladbach, the team had won five out of their last six home matches (one loss).

The coach Lucien Favre has a reason to be satisfied in front of this match as he has full squad available for selection except for few reserve players like Jean-Sebastien Jaures, Jens Wissing and Fabian Baker who are longer time injured and this season they did not get much playing time.

No changes in the formation are expected for this match, which means Favre will use standard formation with two strikers-Mo Idrissou (five goals scored) and Mike Hanke (four goals, six assists) with big help from the youngster Marco Reus (ten goals, eight assists), who will have offensive role from the midfield.

Probable Borussia Monchengladbach line-up :
ter Stegen,
Jantschke, Stranzl, Dante, Daems,
Reus, Neustadter, Nordtveit, Arango,
Idrissou, Hanke

Vfl Bochum

Vfl Bochum were relegated last season from the Bundesliga and after finishing third in the 2.Bundesliga this season, they have a big chance to get back in the elite after one year in a lower division.

Interestingly, Vfl Bochum had finished the season third with 65 points, same as the second placed team FC Augsburg, but due to a superior goal difference FC Augsburg entered in the Bundesliga directly, and Vfl Bochum have to play playoff matches. Previously, Hertha Berlin also secured their place in the Bundesliga next season.

Vfl Bochum were really far from the Bundesliga and the playoff spot at the winter break when they were placed twelfth in the 2.Bundesliga, but since the restart in January this team had managed to win eight matches in a row which secured their third placed at the table.

Another reason for team`s success this year is that since the winter break their defense has been rock solid and Vfl Bochum have conceded just 14 goals in 17 matches.

Coach Friedhelm Funkel can not count only on the defender Kevin Vogt for this match and the midfielder Mimoun Azaouagh is also out after tearing his knee ligaments in the last match of the season against MSV Duisburg.

Vfl Bochum play in 4-3-2-1 formation which sometimes transforms into a formation with three strikers. Mirko Aydin (eight goals scored) will be the only striker in the line up, but there are few other players that contribute in the attack as well, like the Turkish International Umit Korkmaz who, since he had joined the team in the winter transfer window, had scored three goals and made two assists in the twelve matches he had played for the team so far. Also the veteran team captain Christoph Dabrowski had scored four goals and Paul Freier had scored twice, and had made six assists as well.

Probable Vfl Bochum line-up :
Luthe,
Kopplin, Maltritz, Yahia, Ostrzolek,
Johansson, Drabowski, Freier,
Toski, Umit Korkmaz,
Aydin

The Betting Verdict

The overall record between Borussia M`gladbach and Vfl Bochum is slightly on Borussia M`gladbach side as they have 26 wins, 23 draws and 22 losses against Vfl Bochum.

An interesting fact is that Borussia M`gladbach could not manage a single victory against Vfl Bochum since 1998 when they have defeated their opponents narrowly with 1-0 in the DFB Cup. Since then there were eight draws and seven wins for Vfl Bochum. Also Borussia M`gladbach have lost the last three competitive home matches against their opponents.
This will be the first of two play off matches that will be played between these teams. The re-match will be played next Wednesday in Bochum. Vfl Bochum have a very tight defense and according to their coach, they will travel to Gladbach with a goal not to lose and will play more defensively, so they will have slight advantage on their home turf next week.

Both teams have been in fantastic forms in the recent few months, but i give Borussia M`gladbach slight advantage in this matchup. They have full squad available, they have beaten much stronger opponents in the past month and also improved a lot in their home stadium where they have managed five wins in the last six home matches.

This will probably be a tight and nervy match, but i expect Borussia M`gladbach to get a narrow home win which will heavily increase their chances for Bundesliga survival this season.

The Pick :

Borussia Monchengladbach 1-0 Vfl Bochum

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take the Home win for Borussia Monchengladbach for a price of 1.73 at Ladbrokes