Does Monchengladbach Have a Chance Against A Messiless Barcelona?

Borussia Monchengladbach lost to Manchester City on the first matchday of Group C. Pep Guardiola’s side was ruthless and showed no mercy to the German outfit. Barcelona on the other hand demolished Celtic FC at the Camp Nou with the NMS finding the back of the net. Lionel Messi picked up an injury against Atletico de Madrid in La Liga and he has been sidelined for three weeks. Can Monchengladbach take advantage of the situation and show a Messiless Barcelona a lesson?

Luis Enrique has been the manager of the transfer market. Barcelona did not make the record buy but Enrique ensured that every department of his setup was strengthened. This came as a result of many coaches monitoring the direct substitution of Rakitic for Turan which led to the club’s elimination from the UEFA Champions League against Atletico Madrid.

Messi’s injury has provided the lights of Suarez and Neymar with the chance to shine. In Barcelona’s match against Sporting Gijon, Neymar and Suarez proved that Barcelona is more than Lionel Messi though his contributions are invaluable to the team’s success. 

Andre Schubert has organized a Monchengladbach side that can score from every side of the pitch. Losing your opening group game of the Champions League to City with matches against Barcelona and Celtic still to come gives Schubert little chance of surviving but Lionel Messi is out and is something the whole team should take advantage of. 

Raffael and Thorgan Hazard have led the line for Monchengladbach and their performances have been excellent. Against Barcelona they need to be at their very best to be able to get into the attacking third and cause Barcelona a lot of problems. 

This is a game Luis Enrique is looking forward to win with Manchester City in sight so that Barcelona can top the group and avoid a tougher opposition in the next stage of the competition.

In contrast, Andre Schubert looks poised to win the game against FC Barcelona so that Monchengladbach would have an equal chance of advancing to the next stage of the competition.

Would Monchengladbach take advantage of the situation?