VfL Wolfsburg vs Borussia Monchengladbach
Wolfsburg and Gladbach are in an early chase for the European places, and they need every win and point they can get as they look to solidify their places in the Bundesliga.
The two clubs are off to a surprising start, both losing just once in five league outings. However, the season is far from over and things are about to get tougher for them, especially if they are serious about challenging for European football next term.
The Wolves are currently fifth, but they failed to get all points in their stalemate with top-five rivals Mainz 05. Meanwhile, Gladbach bounced back from their defeat to Hertha Berlin last week and are now oozing with confidence following their 3-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt.
Talking Points
Wolfsburg have home-court advantage in this game, but they know they need more than just the huge crowd cheering for them if they want to beat a Gladbach side that has already taken three wins out of five.
After starting the campaign with two straight victories against Schalke 04 and Bayer Leverkusen, Bruno Labbadia’s charges have since fallen back to earth and are winless in their last three outings.
They did well to pull out a 2-2 draw with Hertha Berlin earlier this month, but a defeat to Freiburg ruined their momentum as they found themselves drawing with Mainz the next game and dropping to fifth after going as high as second.
Admir Mehmedi has scored two of the team’s last three goals—including the crucial equaliser against the capital club—but Wolfsburg seem to have lost their bite in recent games. In fact, in their match with the O-Fives, they failed to find the back of the net even once despite having 12 shot attempts.
Not to mention that they had 11 corners in that game, all while getting the lion’s share of the possession.
Sure enough, the team was a little unlucky not to convert from their chances, but Labbadia certainly needs his squad to be more clinical in front of the goal if they want to put up a fight against their other top-five rivals like Gladbach.
Dieter Hecking’s side may have lost to Pal Dardai’s men, but unlike Wolfsburg who struggled to stay composed after a setback, they used the defeat as a springboard to improve their game.
The Foals haven’t slowed down too, having scored in each of their games so far this campaign.
Making things even better for Gladbach, they have Alassane Plea and Thorgan Hazard who have been remarkable in grabbing the Bundesliga 2018 highlights. Plea has already hit three league goals and has turned provider once, while Thorgan has lived up to his “Hazard” name with two markers and one assist.
On paper, the two teams looked evenly matched; however, when it comes to form, it’s clear which club is one step ahead.
History
Wolfsburg got the better of their last five encounters, winning three times, drawing once and losing the other.
They split their matches last year, though, with both teams winning by a 3-0 scoreline in their home fixtures. Gladbach won behind goals from Lars Stindl, Raffael and Christoph Kramer, while the Wolves had Yunus Malli, Daniel Didavi and Josuha Guilavogui putting their names on the scoresheet.
Unfortunately for both sides, out of the six scorers, only two are expected to feature in their weekend meeting at Volkswagen Arena. Stindl and Raffael are both sidelined for Gladbach due to injuries, while Didavi is no longer with Wolfsburg after his summer return to Stuttgart.
Wolfsburg skipper Guilavogui, on the other hand, is sidelined as he recovers from the serious knee injury he sustained in their league opener against Schalke.
One interesting note: Wolfsburg haven’t won in their last two home games in the Bundesliga while Gladbach are winless on the road in the same stretch.
Betting Tip
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VfL Wolfsburg vs Borussia Monchengladbach | Monchengladbach Draw No Bet @ 2.17 |
| September 29, 21:30 (GMT+8) |
There’s little separating the two teams at SBOBET, but the Bundesliga 2018 odds are slightly leaning towards a Wolfsburg victory.
While that is expected given their home-court advantage and dominance in recent head-to-heads, Wolfsburg’s current form is undoubtedly a cause for concern. Besides, it’s really hard to support them after conceding three goals against Freiburg.
Meanwhile, I like what I have seen so far from Gladbach. Sure, they were quite disappointing in the Berlin game, but I think they have a way better offence than Wolfsburg.
I have Gladbach winning this one by a small margin, and I think the worst result for them would be a draw.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
| = €20 (Highly confident) |
 = €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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