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Champions League: Gladbach look to build on first-leg win

Matt PearsonAugust 23, 2016

Borussia Mönchengladbach have one foot in the Champions League group stage after a 3-1 win over Young Boys in Switzerland earlier this month. Foals' head coach Andre Schubert expects more of the same this Wednesday.

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Champions League Playoff-Hinspiel Schweiz BSC Young Boys vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach
Image: Imago/J. Huebner

Two away goals in three second-half minutes put Gladbach in a dominant position going in to their third competitive game of the season, and Schubert has no intention of relinquishing any of the momentum from the wins in Switzerland and in the German Cup on Saturday.

"We have put ourselves in a great position from the first leg and are now desperate to make it to the group stage of the Champions League. That’s why none of my players will be taking anything for granted on Wednesday," Schubert said in Tuesday's prematch press conference.

"It will be our first home game of the season and we are expecting a full house and a fantastic atmosphere. It will be a great experience for all of the players. Even though we won the first leg in Bern, we still want to dominate tomorrow night’s game and of course come out on top. We are a very attack-minded side and so we will look to play on the front foot right from the start."

Despite their solid form so far, Schubert said his side would be rotated both in this second-leg match and frequently in the coming season. One man the Foals will definitely be without on Wednesday is Swiss forward Josip Drmic, who spent the end of last season on loan at Hamburg. He's expected to be out until October.

Young Boys are also expected to be missing a striker, after former Paris St. Germain target man Guillaume Hoarau was pictured on crutches. But Schubert isn't totally convinced of the big front man's absence.

Fußball Bundesliga 21.Spieltag Hamburger SV - Borussia Mönchengladbach
Andre Schubert doens't expect a drop in performance on WednesdayImage: picture-alliance/dpa/D. Bockwoldt

"I’m aware that he was on crutches yesterday (Monday) but I’m still a bit skeptical about his absence," Schubert said. "You do sometimes see these miraculous recoveries in football. Hoarau proved in the first leg that he is a very dangerous player. "

If Schubert scouted his opponents in their last league game, he may well have reached the conclusion that Hoarau plays for a dangerous side too. In their fifth league game of the Swiss Super League, Young Boys crushed Lausanne 7-2 to move up to third in the table.

Should Gladbach progress on Wednesday, they will find out who they play in the Champions League group stages when the draw is made on Thursday in Monaco.