Both teams will be aiming to return to winning ways after being involved in entertaining draws in the Bundesliga last weekend.
Borussia Monchengladbach drew 3-3 away to Freiburg, while Wolfsburg were held 2-2 at home to Werder Bremen, so neutrals will be hoping to see plenty of goals between these sides on Friday night.
Match preview
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Given that Freiburg have finished in the top six in each of the last two seasons, claiming a point at Europa-Park Stadion cannot be considered a bad result for most teams in Germany, but Gladbach would have felt disappointed having led 3-1 at half time.
Lucas Holer had provided the hosts with the perfect start after only seven minutes, but Theoson Siebatcheu, Alassane Plea and Julian Weigl all struck back to give the visitors a commanding lead at the break. However, after Noah Weisshaupt had pulled one back, Vincenzo Grifo dispatched a penalty in the sixth minute of injury time to leave Gerardo Seoane's side heartbroken.
There have certainly been signs of improvement under the former Bayer Leverkusen boss in recent weeks, with consecutive victories against Heidenheim putting some distance between Gladbach and the relegation zone, while also sending them through to the third round of the DFB-Pokal. Ironically, they will host Wolfsburg in the last 16, as Die Fohlen look to lift Germany's domestic cup for the first time since 1995.
In the meantime, Seoane and his players will be desperate to beat the Wolves on Friday, especially as they would leapfrog their opponents into the top half of the table if they can win by two or more goals.
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Wolfsburg will be determined not to allow that to happen, though, especially having only picked up one point from their last four games. Following successive defeats to Stuttgart, Leverkusen and Augsburg, Niko Kovac and his players were left frustrated not to beat Werder Bremen at the Volkswagen Arena last time out.
Like their forthcoming opponents, Wolfsburg found themselves 1-0 down within the opening seven minutes, but goals from Vaclav Cerny and Kevin Paredes either side of half time appeared to set them up for an expected victory. However, Rafael Borre had other ideas when equalising, with Maxence Lacroix's late dismissal leaving the Wolves hanging on for a point.
Scoring goals has certainly not been a problem for Wolfsburg - only Borussia Dortmund have prevented them from scoring in their opening 10 games of the season - but they have kept just one clean sheet since their victory against newly-promoted Heidenheim on the opening day of the season. It is no surprise they have struggled to pick up results in recent weeks considering that they have shipped 10 goals across four games.
Lacroix's suspension is unlikely to help them improve that record in Monchengladbach on Friday, especially as they have failed to beat their forthcoming opponents in any of their last seven meetings with them.
Team News
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After scoring only his second goal for Gladbach since moving from Union Berlin during the summer transfer window, Siebatcheu was substituted after only 43 minutes against Freiburg, with the 27-year-old set to be sidelined for at least a few weeks due to a groin injury.
Tomas Cvancara is likely to replace him in attack on Friday, with Seoane's options limited by several other injury problems at the club. Indeed, Ko Itakura, Tobias Sippel, Hannes Wolf, Yvandro Borges Sanches, Tony Jantschke, Jonas Omlin and Stefan Lainer are all expected to remain unavailable for the hosts.
Wolfsburg, meanwhile, continue to be deprived of the services of their star striker Lukas Nmecha, who recently underwent knee surgery and will not return to first-team action until the New Year. Patrick Wimmer, Kilian Fischer and Felix Lange all join the Germany forward on the treatment table.
However, with Lacroix suspended and Sebastiaan Bornauw doubtful due to a head injury sustained against Werder Bremen, Kovac may be more concerned with his defensive numbers. The former Bayern Munich boss could opt to switch to a back four, with Moritz Jenz partnering Cedric Zeisger in central defence.
Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Nicolas; Scally, Elvedi, Wober, Netz; Honorat, Reitz, Weigl, Ngoumou; Plea, Cvancara
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Pervan; Baku, Zesiger, Lenz, Maehle; Svanberg, Arnold; Cerny, Majer, Paredes; Wind
We say: Borussia Monchengladbach 2-2 Wolfsburg
Four of the last seven meetings between these sides have ended in draws, with Gladbach winning the other three games, while both sides had to settle on sharing the spoils last weekend.
As such, we would not be surprised to see another draw play out on Friday night, but it should be an entertaining one given that these teams have been much more proficient at attacking than defending in recent weeks.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Brett Curtis
