This has been a difficult season for the hosts of this match, with Borussia Mönchengladbach losing their first five league matches and seeing their manager resign already. Manchester City have also had a rough road of late, losing their first Champions League match of the season, their first loss in any competition. They’ve also since lost both of their league matches between that match and today’s battle against Gladbach in Germany.
Manchester City vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
Manchester City’s form is suffering right now, but they’re heading to Germany to face a team that has already replaced their manager this season in Borussia Mönchengladbach.
So, which team can find a way to reverse their momentum and seize the opportunity at hand in this match? With Juventus and Sevilla facing off in the other match of Group D, there’s a chance to make up a lot of the ground that each of these teams lost in their group openers. However, they’ll both have to be much, much better in this match in order to get the job done.
Key player -- Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
With so much of City’s attack hurting or struggling right now, they’re going to be leaning heavily on De Bruyne in this match. He’s a man who’s used to playing against Gladbach in high level games, having spent most of the last three years in the Bundesliga. For most of the last season and a half he was arguably the best player in the league at Wolfsburg. De Bruyne’s qualities in the final third will be much needed by Manchester, so hopefully that familiarity will give him an extra edge to help propel City to their first Champions League win of the season.
Key question -- Which version of Gladbach shows up?
At the start of the season, Borussia Mönchengladbach were awful. In their first five league matches, Gladbach lost all five and were outscored by a combined 12 goals to two. They got hammered in their first Champions League match against Sevilla to the tune of 3-0, never once really looking like they were in the match. Ten days ago, Lucien Favre, who lead Gladbach to a third place finish last season, resigned in disgrace over this awful start.
Enter Andre Schubert, who has reignited Gladbach’s fires and lead them to two straight resounding wins, 4-2 over Augsburg and 3-1 over Stuttgart. Can he keep that free-scoring form flying on home soil against one of the best teams in England, or will Gladbach’s adrenaline run out and see them revert to their earlier struggles?
Borussia Mönchengladbach injuries and suspensions
Out: Martin Stranzl (eye socket)
Manchester City injuries and suspensions
Out: Fabian Delph (hamstring), Gael Clichy (ankle), Vincent Kompany (calf), Eliaquim Mangala (muscle) In doubt: Wilfried Bony (ankle), Joe Hart (back), Yaya Touré (hamstring), David Silva (calf)
City are incredibly battered right now, and it’s not limited to one position group. Major defenders, major defenders, major attackers, heck, even their goalkeeper is hurting right now. Their depth has been sorely tested and might not be as fresh as Manuel Pellegrini wants them to be, so that could be the big chance Gladbach needs to find an advantage in this match.
Match Date/Time: Wednesday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 8:45 p.m. local
Venue: Borussia-Park, Mönchengladbach, Germany
TV: FOX Sports 2 (U.S.), Sky Sport 1/HD, Sky Sport 2/HD, WDR 2 (Germany), BT Sport 2 (U.K.)
Online: FOX Soccer 2 Go, FOX Sports Go, ESPN3 (U.S.), Sky Go Deutschland (Germany), BT Sport Live (U.K.)
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