| PROBABLE LINE-UPS |
BAYER LEVERKUSEN  Leno Schwaab, Friedrich, Toprak, Kadlec Reinartz, Rolfes Castro, Renato Augusto, Schurrle Kiessling | MONCHENGLADBACH  Ter Stegen Stranzl, Brouwers, Dante, Daems Wendt, Nordtveit, Neustadter, Arango Reus Hanke |
Bayer Leverkusen unfortunately find themselves short of influential midfielder Lars Bender, who is currently looking at 'several weeks' out, according to the club's official site, after tearing his thigh muscle in last weekend's 3-2 loss to Wolfsburg.
Vedran Corluka is the other notable casualty with the Croatian currently recovering from a hamstring problem.
The increasingly unhappy Michael Ballack also looks set to miss out as his role within the club continues to be brought into question, and will join Rene Adler, Tranquillo Barnetta and Sidney Sam on the sidelines.
In the opposition camp, Lucien Favre is unable to call upon the services of defender Tony Jantschke, as the 21-year-old is currently serving a suspension for picking up five yellow cards.
Meanwhile, the Foals' only other absentee should be Patrick Herrmann, who continues his search for full match fitness.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
Marco Reus is currently the Bundesliga's seventh top scorer with 13 goals. The closest Bayer Leverkusen come to the young attacker's record this season is Stefan Kiessling, who has scored eight.
- Die Fohlen's Juan Arango currently holds the record for the second-most assists in the German top flight this season with nine, trailing only Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery, who has 10.
- Both teams involved in Saturday's clash currently sit the top four of the Bundesliga's fair play ranking. Put into perspective, Monchengladbach have picked up 37 yellow cards and one red over the course of the season, while the worst of the bunch, Koln, have amassed 54 yellows and six reds.
- Bayer Leverkusen are amongst the teams with the poorest average attendance this term with under 30,000 per match; less than half of Borussia Dortmund's, who have an approximate attendance of over 80,000 per game.
It's no secret that both sides will want to win this game, but one has to imagine that anything other than a loss would suit Robin Dutt at present, while Lucien Favre's main concern will be to see his side return to goalscoring form. With that in mind, either camp should be happy with a scoring draw.
Editor's Prediction
Leverkusen 2-2 Mönchengladbach 
