Next "acid test" at Borussia Mönchengladbach
Friday, 13. January 2023, 16:00 Uhr
Next up for the Boys in Brown is game three of their preparations for the second half of the season when they go to Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday (14.00 CET). For the home side, who sit eighth in the Bundesliga, the game serves as the dress rehearsal for the league resumption against Bayer Leverkusen. For Fabian Hürzeler's side, it is the next acid test after the first two warm-up matches against Union Berlin (2-3) and FC Lugano (7-2).
"Gladbach are one of the best footballing teams, they have an excellent mix of good athletic footballers and players who like to get stuck in. Daniel Farke is doing a great job. You can see how they want to play. His signature is all over the team. We're preparing well and will have a look at some Gladbach games, as we did against Union Berlin and Lugano," said Hürzeler before adding: "It's another acid test for us. We go to Gladbach looking to hold our own and I've said that to the players. We’re capable of holding our own against a team like Gladbach if we harmonise and function well as a team and the lads do their job implementing our rehearsed patterns of play and pressing game."
Hürzeler will be without several players on Saturday. In addition to long-term casualties Christopher Avevor and David Nemeth, Luca Zander (Achilles), Etienne Amenyido and Franz Roggow (both groin), and Niklas Jessen and Lennart Appe (both with the Under-23s) will not make the trip to Mönchengladbach. Question marks remain over Johannes Eggestein (ill) and Marcel Hartel (thigh), though Jakov Medić returns to the squad. Nikola Vasilj, who missed the warm-up game against Lugano due to a family bereavement, will keep goal, Hürzeler added. New acquisition Karol Mets, who did not feature against Lugano, is expected to make his first appearance in an FCSP shirt.
Borussia coach Daniel Farke has almost a full squad to choose from for the dress rehearsal at home to Bayer Leverkusen, with just one absentee. For Borussia, who resumed training after the World Cup break on Monday, 12 December, it is already the third warm-up game since the turn of the year. Farke's team defeated third-division VfB Oldenburg 2-0 on Saturday thanks to goals from Ramy Bensebaini and Patrick Herrmann, and on Wednesday they overcame second-division Arminia Bielefeld. Nathan Ngoumou opened the scoring in the first half before Marcus Thuram, Hannes Wolf and Kouadio Kon added three more in the final quarter of an hour to complete a 4-0 win.
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Tickets will be available on the day 90 minutes before kick-off for any FCSP fans wishing to travel. If you can't make it to the Borussia Park, the game will be broadcast live by Sky Deutschland from 13.55 CET, with Borussia also showing it live on Facebook and YouTube.
Photos: Witters
