Preview: Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Heidenheim - prediction, team news, lineups

The newly-promoted visitors travel to Monchengladbach one point ahead of their forthcoming opponents.

Match preview

Having sold the likes of Jonas Hofmann, Marcus Thuram and Ramy Bensebaini without receiving the fees that they would have liked for players of such quality - in part because the latter two opted to run their contracts down - this season was always likely to be a transitional one for Gladbach.

After finishing outside the top half for the second successive campaign, Die Fohlen opted to replace Daniel Farke with former Bayer Leverkusen boss Gerardo Seoane in their managerial dugout during the summer, but the 44-year-old has struggled to make a positive impact during his early months in charge.

His only league win in eight matches came via a 3-1 victory away to VfL Bochum, but they have since gained just one point from two games against Mainz 05 and FC Koln, who both head into the forthcoming weekend's action inside the relegation zone.

Indeed, Koln had collected only one point from their opening seven matches prior to hosting Seoane's side at RheinEnergieStadion, but after Florian Kainz and Nico Elvedi had exchanged strikes either side of half time, Manu Kone's straight red card with less than 20 minutes of normal time left Gladbach with an uphill battle to climb.

Steffen Baumgart's side knew that they could scarcely afford to pass up such a golden opportunity to finally end their winless streak, with Kainz's second dispatched penalty of the game and Luca Waldschmidt's late settler providing them with that. For Gladbach, another defeat on Saturday would leave them vulnerable to falling into the bottom three.

Heidenheim, meanwhile, have suffered two successive losses themselves either side of the international break, with their 5-2 defeat at home to potential relegation rivals Augsburg proving a particularly bitter pill for them to swallow last time out.

For the second time already this season, Frank Schmidt's side threw away a two-goal lead to lose at Voith-Arena, after Tim Kleindienst and Jan-Niklas Beste had scored within a minute of each other to set their side up for a potentially crucial victory.

However, after Philipp Tietz pulled one back for the visitors, Mads Pedersen and Ermedin Demirovic copied the hosts' playbook to also bag in close succession, leaving Heidenheim stunned as they went into the half-time interval 3-2 down. Despite dominating possession and the shot count, Schmidt's side could not find an equaliser as they conceded two further goals.

It was an unwanted familiar feeling for Heidenheim, who suffered a similar loss to Hoffenheim during the early weeks of the campaign, and they will not get away with squandering leads - or defending as poorly - if they want to preserve their status as a Bundesliga outfit following their maiden promotion to Germany's top flight.

Fortunately for Schmidt and his players, they are set to face a team who have struggled to defend almost as much as they have so far this season, suggesting that they will almost certainly have plenty of opportunities to return to winning ways at Borussia-Park.

Borussia Monchengladbach Bundesliga form:

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D

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W

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Heidenheim Bundesliga form:

D

W

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W

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Team News

Gladbach will be deprived of the services of Kone for two matches following his costly dismissal during the defeat to Koln, with Christoph Kramer likely to replace him in midfield.

Seoane has several injuries to contend with at the moment, with Ko Itakura, Tobias Sippel, Hannes Wolf, Yvandro Borges Sanches, Tony Jantschke, Jonas Omlin and Stefan Lainer all expected to miss out on Saturday.

Heidenheim, on the other hand, should travel with a fully-fit squad, with the exception of Elidon Qenaj due to a serious knee issue. Marvin Pieringer will be hopeful of returning to the starting XI after surprisingly only being used from the bench against Augsburg.

However, Schmidt will be pondering how to improve his side's defensive organisation without hindering their ability to score goals, with Kevin Sessa potentially providing an option to provide more solidity in the visitors' midfield area.

Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:

Nicolas; Elvedi, Friedrich, Wober; Honorat, Neuhaus, Weigl, Kramer, Netz; Plea, Cvancara

Heidenheim possible starting lineup:

Muller; Traore, Mainka, Siersleben, Fohrenbach; Sessa, Maloney; Dinkci, Pieringer, Beste; Kleindeinst

We say: Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1 Heidenheim

Both sides' matches are averaging at least four goals-per-game so far this season, suggesting that those in attendance at Borussia-Park could be in store for an entertaining encounter on Saturday.

Bundesliga debutants Heidenheim have been a breath of fresh air during the early weeks of the campaign, but Gladbach will sense an opportunity to claim only their second win under Seoane, and we expect them to narrowly gain it.

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