Borussia Monchengladbach will use their new-found confidence to press Juventus in aggressive fashion in a bid to stun the Serie A giants in their Champions League clash in Turin on Wednesday.
Andre Schubert’s side travel to Italy buoyed by a string of positive results that have restored confidence and pride following a dismal start to the Bundesliga season.
Juventus, last season’s beaten finalists, will take a significant step towards the last 16 if they claim their third successive win after beating Manchester City and Sevilla.
But Schubert expects his side to play their game with a swagger, keep the pressure on Juventus throughout and create their own chances to claim their first win in Group D.
“We’ve been really focusing on details lately and we’ve been playing a bit more aggressively. We like to pressure high up the pitch and win the ball back quickly,” Schubert said in Turin on Tuesday.
“These are the fundamentals of football and we’re looking to exploit that game by game. Our situation has changed dramatically from the start (of the season).
“Tomorrow we’ll what it brings.”
Much like Juve’s poor start to the Serie A campaign, Gladbach have also endured a Jekyll and Hyde season so far.
The Germans suffered five straight league defeats and lost 3-0 to Sevilla in Europe, leaving them bottom of Germany’s top flight and prompting coach Lucien Favre’s shock resignation in mid-September after four successful years at the helm.
Schubert was installed only as caretaker coach, but the change was immediate. The Foals went on to win four league games on the trot and although a 2-1 defeat to City has left them bottom of the group, defender Oscar Wendt said their 5-1 away thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday has removed any fear of Juventus.
“We’ve got respect for Juventus but we don’t fear them. We’ll give everything we’ve got to win tomorrow,” said Wendt.
“Juve are favourites for tomorrow but we gave a good account of ourselves in our last Bundesliga game.”
Juventus will take a major step towards the last 16 with a win on Wednesday, while defeat for Gladbach would virtually torpedo their hopes.
Schubert will be without fleet-footed winger Patrick Herrmann (knee) while Swiss defensive midfielder Granit Xhaka is doubtful with an ankle knock.
Asked if those absences were a problem, he said: “I don’t see it like that. The lads that are here have done well. The fact we have some (players) missing won’t be decisive.
Schubert said it’s up to the players he does have available to go out and show they deserve to sit among such prestigious company.
“The important thing will be to win tomorrow. City are the favourites in the Premier League, Juve played in the final and Sevilla are the Europa League champions,” he said.
“But we’re not afraid. We have to play with courage, we have to play as we have been doing lately by playing high up the pitch and creating our own chances.
“We’ll play our game, we won’t be sitting back defending.”