Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Bayer Leverkusen: Match Preview, Odds & Predictions

Friday will mark the start of the new Bundesliga season with Xabi Alonso's unbeatable Bayer Leverkusen taking on Borussia Monchengladbach at Borussia Park.

The home team is looking to improve upon last season's fourteenth-place finish, while the away team is riding high off last Saturday's German Super Cup triumph against Stuttgart.

Previous Matches and head-to-head

On August 17, the hosts won the 2024–25 DFB-Pokal against Erzgebirge Aue 3–1, despite having to work for their victory after giving up the first goal in the eighth minute.

Manager Gerardo Seoane has been attempting to stop Die Fohlen's decline into the relegation zone during the last several seasons; thus, the fact that they battled against a German third-tier club is not good optics.

Borussia Monchengladbach concluded the 2023–24 season with 34 points, good for 16th place in the league. Bochum, who finished in the playoff slot for relegation, had only one point more than Borussia Monchengladbach.

The team had not finished any of the previous four seasons higher than ninth. Thus, last term's bad performance was only the latest in a string of disastrous seasons dating back to 2019–20, when they finished fourth.

Seoane's squad lost all six of their league matches and finished the 2023–24 season with only 14 points from 17 games in the Bundesliga.

They have lost their previous six Bundesliga games at Borussia Park, but when you include in their six preseason friendly, they are really 7-1.

Conflicting Views After a scoreless stalemate in last weekend's Super Cup final, Xabi Alonso's Stuttgart team won 4-3 in overtime. Bayer Leverkusen was the losing team.

Last season, Leverkusen were no strangers to late comebacks; Patrik Schick's goal in the 88th minute against Stuttgart equalized the score at two goals each, demonstrating this familiarity.

Considering his team had to play with ten men due to Martin Terrier's red card in the 37th minute, Alonso's triumph in the final is all the more impressive. It means he has won every domestic title that was available to him at the club.

With their victory, Alonso became the first manager in Bundesliga history to lead a club to an undefeated league championship. Die Schwarzroten have won five major trophies, three of them from Alonso.

The 'Invincibles' finished last season as the top defensive club in the division and the second-best attacking squad with 89 goals scored.

Leverkusen has won 14 of its past 17 Bundesliga away games, but it has won just once in its last five matches overall (including its four preseason games).

Borussia Monchengladbach x Bayer Leverkuse Team News

In addition to last year's leading scorer on the flank, Robin Hack and starting centre back Nico Elvedi is also available to the hosts.

Unfortunately for Borussia Monchengladbach, goalkeeper Jan Olschowsky and midfielder Borges Sanches are both out with knee injuries.

Martin Terrier, who was sent off for a red card, will not be suspended from league play and may be used by the visiting team.

Meanwhile, with Exequiel Palacios out with an injury, Aleix Garcia will likely start in midfield with Granit Xhaka.

Regulars like Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, and Alejandro Grimaldo, who all saw action off the bench vs Stuttgart, might be called upon by Bayer Leverkusen.

Our Predictions

Bayer Leverkusen @ 1.60 on Sky247.ng

Leverkusen proved they can still beat the best teams when it counts, despite not being at their best since the conclusion of 2023–24.

And it would be shocking if Borussia Monchengladbach didn't lose after their dismal performance in the previous term.

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