Visitors Borussia Monchengladbach will have to win on Saturday against Werder Bremen at Weserstadion if they are to keep pace with the teams above them in the Bundesliga's European spots.
The Green-Whites are in 12th place with 33 points and defeated Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 on March 8, whereas the away side lost 3-1 against Mainz 05 on March 7 and are in ninth place with 37 points.
Match preview
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Werder Bremen were pushed back deep into their own half by Leverkusen, but despite the champions accumulating 73% possession, they were restricted to just one big chance.
The victors' win brought to an end a stretch of five consecutive losses, and the triumph will have come as a welcome relief to boss Ole Werner, whose position as head coach had come under significant scrutiny.
Werner's side also kept their first clean sheet in six matches and scored more than one goal for the first time in seven outings.
Werder Bremen were beaten 4-1 by Saturday's opponents on November 3, and they trailed 4-0 by the time Keke Topp netted a 75th-minute consolation.
The hosts' record at home has been poor in recent weeks, with the club suffering defeat in three of their last four at Weserstadion, winning just one of their past five.
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Borussia Monchengladbach come into the clash two points from sixth-placed RB Leipzig, who currently occupy the division's Conference League qualification spot, but they could end the weekend as low as 11th.
The visitors failed to capitalise on a number of opportunities in front of goal, and fans will be concerned that the team were so vulnerable defensively given they faced three big chances.
In fact, Die Fohlen have now conceded three goals in two of their past three matches and have kept just two clean sheets in their 14 most recent fixtures.
Manager Gerardo Seoane will also be concerned that his team have lost two of their last three, whereas they had triumphed in three of their prior four, drawing 1-1 with Eintracht Frankfurt on February 8 in the other game in that period.
Borussia Monchengladbach have won their last three matches on the road by a cumulative score of 7-2, but they did lose six, draw two and win just one of their previous nine away from home.
Team News
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Werder Bremen only have to contend with two absentees, with wing-back Mitchell Weiser suspended and centre-back Niklas Stark out of action as a result of a knee injury.
Amos Pieper, Milos Veljkovic and Anthony Jung are candidates to play in a back three, and they may be flanked by Issa Kabore and Felix Agu.
In midfield, Senne Lynen and Jens Stage are almost certain to feature, while striker Andre Silva may be partnered by Oliver Burke.
Borussia Monchengladbach have more injury concerns, with goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas ruled out for the rest of the season, and his absence makes Jonas Omlin likely to appear between the posts.
Forward Nathan N'Goumou has also been ruled out, so expect Noah Pesch to be stationed in attack alongside Alassane Plea, Robin Hack and Tim Kleindienst.
Philipp Sander and Julian Weigl could be trusted to start in a double pivot given Niklas Swider and Rocco Reitz will not be in the XI due to injury.
Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:
Zetterer; Pieper, Veljkovic, Jung; Kabore, Lynen, Stage, Agu; Schmid; Burke, Silva
Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Omlin; Scally, Itakura, Elvedi, Ullrich; Sander, Weigl; Pesch, Plea, Hack; Kleindienst
We say: Werder Bremen 1-2 Borussia Monchengladbach
Though Werder Bremen managed to earn a good result against Leverkusen, it is difficult to overlook their poor form.
If Borussia Monchengladbach create the same number of chances as they did last time out, they should be expected to win if they are more clinical in the final third.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
