Eugen Polanski was not happy after the final whistle in the capital. "We didn't turn up at all for the first 15 minutes and more or less gave the game away," explained the Gladbach coach, who only took over the reins in mid-September. As a result, his team had to deal with conceding an early goal at 1. FC Union Berlin on the last matchday, from which the Foals would not recover. Instead of the hoped-for turnaround, Borussia suffered their fourth defeat of the season with a 3-1 loss, and are now winless in the Bundesliga since March (14 games). Instead of bouncing back with a good result, they plummeted to 18th place.
Worst start in the club's history
For Gladbach, the defeat in Berlin was the most recent chapter in a season that has been one to forget so far. They currently have three points after seven matchdays - the lowest in the club's history at this point in the season. "Only one thing matters to us at the moment: getting out of the current situation. We have to put everything into it together to pick up points," demanded Rouven Schröder. The Borussian's new head of sports has only been in post since the middle of the month, following Roland Virkus' surprise resignation.
Gladbach's current misery can probably be put down to a lack of attacking penetration. With six goals, the Borussians have the weakest attack in the league alongside 1. FC Heidenheim. The problems become even clearer in view of the fact that Gladbach scored four of the season's six goals in the spectacular 6-4 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt. In the clashes with Hamburg (0-0), at Stuttgart (1-0), against Bremen (4-0) and Freiburg (0-0), on the other hand, they failed to hit the back of the net four times.
Tabaković firing at last, Kleindienst sorely missed
It’s evident the Foals are currently unable to adequately compensate for the loss of target man Tim Kleindienst. The Germany striker scored 16 league goals for Gladbach last season, but has been out since May with a knee injury. On top of that, Alassane Pléa (32 years old, 58 goals in 209 Bundesliga games), an experienced attacker and long-time Gladbach first-choice in attack, departed the club in the summer.
Summer arrival Haris Tabaković is now carrying the club's hopes up front. After some minor teething problems, the 31-year-old has scored three goals in the last four games, making the TSG Hoffenheim loanee one of the most in-form attackers in this period. In contrast, the other summer additions to the attack, Shuto Machino (25, Holstein Kiel) and Giovanni Reyna (22, Borussia Dortmund), struggled with injuries in the early stages of the season and have yet to show their full potential.
Polanski still looking for his system
Even without the 1.94-metre-tall Kleindienst, however, Gladbach have at least retained one strength in attack that has characterised them in the past: their aerial supremacy. In the current competition, the Foals have recorded the fifth most aerial challenges won (137), the third most crosses (93), the most headed goals (4) and, after Bayern (4), the most goals from corners (3). Eugen Polanski will probably also be relying on these strengths against Bayern - it remains to be seen which line-up the Gladbach coach will go for.
In his first two games in the dugout, a 1-1 draw at Leverkusen and a 6-4 loss to Frankfurt, the 39-year-old deployed a 3-4-2-1 formation with Lukas Ullrich (21) and Joe Scally (22) on the flanks. Against Freiburg and most recently in Berlin, Polanski switched to a four-man back line, with Rocco Reitz and new signing Jens Castrop (22, 1. FC Nürnberg) providing a threat on the wings. So will he reorganise again after the most recent defeat?
The X-factor: Gladbach's unpredictability
We'll find out on Matchday 8 - and also see which side of the Foals will be on display. "It seems we need to get some more fire into the side before the game. Maybe the lads are too quiet as characters. Then I see it as my job as coach to define even more clearly how we have to go into a game," analysed Polanski after the defeat in Berlin. The former Poland international, who himself made 54 competitive appearances for Gladbach during his playing career, will know that the Borussians are always particularly motivated in clashes with Bayern.
Although FCB have won the last four encounters, Gladbach had previously gone five games unbeaten against the record champions. In the past, a win against Bayern has compensated their fans time and time again for an average season - but Vincent Kompany and his team don't want it to come to that on Saturday!
Check out some more stats on the clash with Mönchengladbach:
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