Champions League: Real Eager to Get Going at Gladbach

Borussia Monchengladbach vs Real Madrid

Real Madrid were on the wrong end of the biggest Champions League surprise of Matchday 1 as they suffered a shock home defeat to a depleted Shakhtar Donetsk side.

Although, the Spanish giants bounced back with a big victory at El Clasico, which should give them a boost of confidence as they go to Germany to face Borussia Monchengladbach.

But despite their favourable Champions League 2020 betting odds, beating Gladbach is by no means a guarantee. The Foals very nearly caused another upset in Group B away to Inter, and they will not be afraid of a Madrid side that has been far from convincing this season.

Talking Points

Gladbach gaining momentum

Can Jonas Hofmann lead Gladbach to a win over Real Madrid in the Champions League? — Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Jonas Hofmann celebrates after scoring against Inter Milan in San Siro

After a somewhat slow start to the season where they won just one of their first four games, Borussia Monchengladbach are finally picking up some steam.

Gladbach picked up an impressive point last week against Inter in their opening Champions League match. They came from a goal down to lead 2-1 and were denied a famous win by a late Romelu Lukaku equaliser.

The Foals then followed that up with a 2-3 away win to bottom club Mainz. Marco Rose fielded a significantly rotated team, which fell behind after taking an early lead. But they fought back in the second half to pick up the much-needed win.

Gladbach don’t have a particularly deep squad after a quiet summer transfer window, which leaves Rose with few options to change up his team.

French strikers Marcus Thuram and Alassane Plea only came on as second-half substitutes against Mainz as Rose tries to keep his key players relatively fresh during this busy period in their schedule.

Neither Plea nor Thuram has gotten off to a great start this season. Instead, it’s been Jonas Hofmann who’s been the Foals’ standout performer early on.

The 28-year-old midfielder already has four goals and four assists in seven matches this season. After grabbing Gladbach’s second goal against Inter, he scored a penalty and set up Matthias Ginter’s winning goal against Mainz after coming on as a second-half sub.

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UEFA – Champions League

Real recover from recent losses

Real Madrid have finally put an end to their mini-crisis. After back-to-back home defeats to Cadiz and Shakhtar, Los Blancos beat Barcelona 1-3 at the Camp Nou in the first El Clasico of the season.

The return of inspirational captain Sergio Ramos, who missed the match against Shaktar, proved vital for the reigning La Liga champions. Ramos was a reassuring presence at the back, and he won and converted the penalty which proved to be the winning goal.

Meanwhile, two of Zinedine Zidane’s substitutes — Luka Modric and Rodrygo — combined to score the clinching third goal. The 35-year-old Modric has been in impressive form of late, scoring two goals in his last two games.

Zidane made several changes to the Real side against Shakhtar with the Barca match in mind, and it backfired. The likes of Luka Jovic and Rodrygo simply couldn’t create any Champions League 2020 highlights.

But after that embarrassing defeat, Zidane will almost surely field his strongest side in Germany. Real will be desperate to avoid another Champions League setback and are unlikely to take Gladbach lightly.

Zidane will also have the advantage of having some better options off his bench, which coud prove to be decisive against a possibly tiring Gladbach side that doesn’t have nearly the same strength in depth as the Spanish giants.

History

Borussia Monchengladbach and Real Madrid have faced off just twice before in European competition, both of which came in a 1985 UEFA Cup tie. Gladbach thumped Real 5-1 in the home lget, but Real recovered to win 4-0 in the second leg and went through on away goals.

Real have an outstanding record against German opposition. They’ve won each of their last six matches against Bundesliga sides, and have lost just once in their last 18 (15 wins, two draws).

Betting Tip

	Borussia Monchengladbach vs Real Madrid	1X2 Real Madrid @ 1.90
	October 28, 04:00 (GMT+8)

SBOTOP odds fancy Real Madrid as 1.90 favourites to pick up all three points in Germany, while Gladbach are priced at 3.60 to pull off another shock defeat of Los Blancos.

But despite their improving form, it’s hard to see Real losing again. They are just too good and too experienced to make that mistake. Zidane surely will have learned his lesson after the Shakhtar match, and he will have his side prepared to face Gladbach.

Ramos’ return will be obviously a huge plus, not to mention Real’s sizable edge in terms of depth. Gladbach could still give Real a game like they did Inter, but the Spanish champions should still have too much in the end.