Borussia Monchengladbach will host mighty and high-flying Barcelona at Borussia Park on Wednesday in the second game of the Champions League group stage. The visitors started their Champions League campaign in a rampant manner with a 7-0 thrashing of Scottish champions Celtic. On the other hand, Borussia Monchengladbach were brushed aside by Manchester City with ease as the game finished 4-0 in favour of the Sky Blues.
Barcelona are on the back of an emphatic 5-0 win over sporting Gijon from Saturday whereas the hosts have won two of their last three games since their loss at the hands of Manchester City. Here are three key battles those could potentially decide the game when Barcelona take on the mighty German side.
Luis Suarez vs Andres Christiansen
With Lionel Messi out injured, the job of Luis Suarez will be tougher. The Uruguayan international was top-notch against Celtic in the first group game scoring a brace and setting up one. Suarez will be the biggest threat to André Schubert’s side. 20-year-old young Chelsea loanee Andreas Christiansen will be up against the best striker in the world and it will be a big ask from him.
The Chelsea loanee will have his hands full throughout the 90 minutes and a good performance against the Blaugrana side will go a long way in establishing himself especially with Chelsea struggling defensively
Lars Stindl Vs Sergio Busquets
The 28-year-old Gladbach skipper, Lars Stindl, is likely to fill in as the most advanced midfielder with Dahoud and Kramer behind him. The German offers a great deal of creativity and will be a big threat to the Catalans. Barcelona are always been vulnerable against counter-attacks and that is why they have to deal with the threat posed by the former Hannover star.
One of the best defensive midfielders in the world if not the best, Sergio Busquets will be up against the 28-year-old and has to keep him silent in order to stop the Germans from doing the damage.
Andre Hahn Vs Gerard Pique
With Raffael and Josep Drmic out with injuries, Andre Hahn will be the key forward for the German side. The 26-year-old is a clinical finisher and won’t disappoint you if he gets the right service from midfield. Barcelona will come to Borussia Park with a mentality of having a rout but that could potentially cause them if André Schubert’s side can hit them on the break. Gerard Pique loves to get involved in his side’s attack but has to take an extra cautious approach to stop Hahn from doing the damage.
