“We need this stadium” – BVB face Gladbach in final match of the year | OneFootball

The scenarioAfter 14 matchdays, BVB have amassed 29 points and are third in the table, level on points with second-placed Leipzig. This is their best haul in four years – in the 2021/22 season, they managed 30 points by the same point. Compared to last year, the Black & Yellows have improved by seven points and five places in the table. After two draws across all competitions (against Bodø and in Freiburg), BVB are looking to pick up three points again at home against Gladbach. The team have yet to lose a game at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK this Bundesliga season (four wins, two draws).  “We want to win this last game of 2025. That’s our goal,” said BVB coach Niko Kovac.

Personnel mattersKovac will be without four players: Ramy Bensebaini is preparing with his national team for the Africa Cup of Nations, which begins for Algeria on 24 December. Jobe Bellingham is suspended for two games after receiving a red card in the match in Freiburg. Waldemar Anton and Aaron Anselmino are still out. Julian Brandt, Marcel Sabitzer and Salih Özcan, who were injured in Freiburg, will return to the squad after completing final training on Thursday, according to BVB coach Niko Kovac.

OppositionAfter going five Bundesliga games in a row unbeaten, the other Borussia from the Lower Rhine suffered a 3-1 defeat at home to VfL Wolfsburg last season. While Mönchengladbach only have the 16th-best home record in the league, things are going better on the road. They have the sixth best away record and have picked up three straight road wins – all without conceding a single goal: 1-0 in Mainz, 3-0 in Heidenheim and 4-0 at St. Pauli. “They had difficulties at the beginning of the season. Eugen has now stabilised them. They have made good progress in recent games,” said Kovac about Gladbach, who have been coached by Eugen Polanski since September. “They are a very difficult team to play against, who defend very well and look for opportunities on the counter-attack.”

Last match before the winter break The last time BVB suffered a home defeat in the last game of the year was in 2013, when they lost 2-1 to Hertha BSC. In the following 11 games before the winter break, BVB have only played four times in their own stadium – matches in which they've remained undefeated. There were two 1-1 draws against Augsburg (2016) and Mainz (2023), as well as two 2-1 home wins: in 2017 against Hoffenheim and a year later against tomorrow’s opponents Borussia Mönchengladbach. Now the coach is once again counting on home strength and the support of the Black & Yellow faithful. “We need this stadium. This stadium has magic and energy. Our fans will support us so that we can ride the momentum,” says Niko Kovac, counting on a victory for the Borussia from Dortmund.Christina Reinke