Gladbach have Turin boost for Juve visit

VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach will try to build on the point gained with their goalless draw at Juventus when the sides meet again on matchday four.

• For Mönchengladbach it was the first ever UEFA Champions League point, although they are still seeking a first victory in the competition since their 1977/78 European Cup campaign.

• Unbeaten Juventus remain top of the section and will secure qualification for the last 16 if they beat Mönchengladbach and Sevilla FC lose to Manchester City FC in the group's other game.

Previous meetings
• It was in the same week 40 years ago that Mönchengladbach eliminated Juventus in the second round of the 1975/76 European Champion Clubs' Cup. The clubs played the first leg in Dusseldorf on 22 October 1975 with Jupp Heynckes (27) and Allan Simonsen (36) scoring in a 2-0 win for the Bundesliga side.

• Juventus took a two-goal lead in the return on 5 November through Sergio Gori (35) and Roberto Bettega (62) but Gladbach came back to draw thanks to goals from Dietmar Danner (70) and Simonsen (88).

• The starting lineups in Germany were:
Mönchengladbach: Kleff, Vogts, Schäffer, Wittkamp, Bonhof, Danner, Simonsen, Wimmer, Jensen, Stielike, Heynckes.
Juventus: Zoff, Spinosi, Gentile, Furino, Morini, Scirea, Cuccureddu, Tardelli, Anastasi, Gori, Bettega.

Match background

Mönchengladbach
• Gladbach went down 2-1 to a last-minute Manchester City penalty in their opening home fixture on matchday two.

• Mönchengladbach's last home success in the competition was a 2-1 first-leg win against Liverpool FC in the 1977/78 semi-finals (aggregate 2-4). That fixture was played in Dusseldorf, meaning their last victory in their home city was the 2-0 quarter-final defeat of SSW Innsbruck.

• They have never lost at home to Serie A opposition (W2 D4 L0).

• Martin Stranzl was among the scorers when Gladbach last hosted an Italian side – the 3-3 draw with SS Lazio in the 2012/13 UEFA Europa League round of 32 (aggregate 3-5). Álvaro Domínguez, Roel Brouwers, Patrick Herrmann, Tony Jantschke, Håvard Nordtveit, Oscar Wendt and Granit Xhaka also featured in that tie, while Hernanes was in the Lazio side.

Juventus
• Including their 2-1 win at City on matchday one, Juve are unbeaten in their last five away games in the competition.

• Massimiliano Allegri's side beat Borussia Dortmund home (2-1) and away (3-0) in last season's round of 16. Their overall away record against Bundesliga clubs is W9 D5 L8.

• Juventus have lost two European Cup finals against German sides, going down to Hamburger SV (0-1) in Athens in 1983 and to Dortmund (1-3) in Munich in 1997. In between they beat Dortmund 6-1 on aggregate in the 1992/93 UEFA Cup final.

Coach and player links
• Andrea Barzagli played for VfL Wolfsburg between July 2008 and January 2011, winning the 2008/09 Bundesliga title. His record against Gladbach was W2 D1 L0.

• Mario Mandžukić appeared six times against Gladbach (W3 D2 L1) when playing in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg and Bayern. He scored once against them – in a 3-1 home win for Bayern in August 2013.

• Sami Khedira had a 100% record against Gladbach with VfB Stuttgart (W3 D0 L0).

• Paul Pogba appeared as a substitute in the France side that ran out 5-2 winners over a Switzerland team including Stephan Lichtsteiner, Granit Xhaka and substitute Josip Drmic at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Xhaka scored the second Swiss goal.

• Simone Zaza and Leonardo Bonucci scored and Gianluigi Buffon also played in Italy's 2-0 win at Håvard Nordtveit's Norway in a UEFA EURO 2016 qualifier in September 2014.

• Álvaro Morata scored for Spain in a 3-0 semi-final win against Nordtveit's Norway at the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

• Fabian Johnson won in Italy when his United States team defeated the Azzurri in a Genoa friendly in February 2012. Buffon, Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini and Claudio Marchisio were in the beaten home team.

• Players who have played together:
Khedira & André Hahn, Herrmann (Germany)
Lichtsteiner & Yann Sommer, Xhaka, Drmic (Switzerland)
Khedira & Stranzl (VfB Stuttgart, 2004–06)
Juan Cuadrado & Andreas Christensen (Chelsea FC, 2015)
Barzagli, Mandžukić & Johnson (VfL Wolfsburg, 2010/11)

Match facts

Mönchengladbach
• Lars Stindl and Domínguez are a booking away from a suspension.

• Mönchengladbach, having lost their first five league games this season, are on a run of six successive Bundesliga victories – all achieved under caretaker coach André Schubert.

• Schubert is the only coach in Gladbach's history to have won his first three league fixtures, let alone six.

• The Foals followed up their draw in Turin by defeating FC Schalke 04 twice in four days, the second of those successes a 2-0 triumph in the German Cup second round on 28 October.

• Raffael, who has scored four goals in his last four Bundesliga appearances, missed the cup tie with flu but returned with a goal in Saturday's 4-1 win at Hertha BSC Berlin.

• Jantschke missed out against Hertha after suffering a shoulder injury in the cup game.

• Hahn sustained a tibial plateau fracture and meniscus damage nine minutes after coming off the bench in the first of the Schalke contests. He is expected to be out until after the winter break.

• Herrmann was diagnosed with a tear in the rear cruciate ligament in his left knee in training on 8 October.

• Nico Schulz sustained a left knee ligament injury during a friendly draw against MSV Duisburg the following day.

• Making his first appearance for club or country since 22 March, Stranzl was forced off after 65 minutes of the 3-0 reverse against Hamburg on 11 September with a broken eye socket.

Juventus
• Juan Cuadrado scored his first goal in 38 games on Saturday, a 93rd-minute winner at home to Torino FC in the derby. His last goal had come for ACF Fiorentina in January.

• The Old Lady have failed to score in three of their last five games in all competitions.

• Chiellini was sent off as Juventus lost 1-0 at US Sassuolo Calcio on 28 October – their fourth league defeat of the season.

• Roberto Pereyra sustained a thigh injury in the 2-0 home victory against Atalanta BC on 25 October and was subsequently ruled out for around 40 days.

• Lichtsteiner underwent minor heart surgery on 2 October after experiencing breathing difficulties during the draw with Frosinone Calcio on 23 September.

• During the visit of Mönchengladbach on matchday three, Buffon broke Alessandro Del Piero's record of 48,867 minutes played in a Juventus shirt.