Borussia Mönchengladbach’s recently harmless offensive urgently needs impetus. That could promote Nathan Ngoumou (23) into the starting line-up against VfL Bochum.
Two goals in 21 appearances in the current Bundesliga season: Nathan Ngoumou. IMAGO/foal photo
With Nathan Ngoumou, a coach knows what he is getting. Incredible speed and a striker who likes to look for one-on-one situations. On the other hand, a coach also knows that Ngoumou is not necessarily the most consistent in his performance and is certainly not a proven goalscorer. The Borussia team need an attacker right now who can hit the box accurately. In the last five games they have only scored two own goals.
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Although it is not necessarily expected that Ngoumou (only two goals in 21 appearances this Bundesliga season) will solve the acute goal drought, coach Gerardo Seoane will definitely think about whether he should start the Frenchman again on Saturday. When he came on as a substitute against Darmstadt (0-0) and at the weekend in Leipzig (0-2), Ngoumou immediately stood out as an invigorating element in Borussia’s otherwise tough and sluggish offensive game.
The turbo speedster, which has already been measured at 35.47 km/h this season, even achieved a promising finish in both games, only narrowly missing the target. Two joker appearances that will now be rewarded with a place in the starting eleven in the groundbreaking home game against Bochum (Saturday, 3:30 p.m., LIVE! on kicker)?
Gladbach: The next opponents
Switch to a back four?
It is certain that Franck Honorat will return to the starting line-up against Bochum. By bringing in the Frenchman and because of the yellow suspensions of his central defenders Ko Itakura and Nico Elvedi, Seoane may even switch to a back four in order to exploit Honorat’s strengths in a 4-3-3 system, a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-4 -2 to better show off. Positioned a little further forward and with a man behind him, Honorat’s offensive qualities should come into play much better than if he had to do a lot of defensive work and go long distances as a rail player on the right side in a system with a three-man chain.
Ngoumou could then benefit from strengthening his wings. He or Robin Hack would be considered for the left side. Hack was unable to use the momentum after his brace in the 3-1 win against VfB Stuttgart at the start of the new year to make himself indispensable. At last he remained pale. This is also a reason why Ngoumou can hope for a new starting eleven chance.
2024-02-21 15:40:50
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