Gladbach missing three of four center backs for cup tie against Karlsruhe
Bundesliga-bottom Borussia Mönchengladbach must improvise against Karlsruhe without Diks, Itakura and Leszczynski. Coach Alexander Blessin still sees “a little light on the horizon.”
Symbolic image · Photo: Arne Müseler / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de (cropped and resized)
Borussia Mönchengladbach head into the German Cup second round with a depleted defense. The Bundesliga's last-placed team will be without three of its four center backs against second-division Karlsruher SC on Tuesday night. Kevin Diks is again absent for private reasons, according to Bild, while Ko Itakura and Jan Leszczynski are also unavailable. Coach Alexander Blessin will have to improvise at the back, as he did in last week's 3-2 win at Stuttgart. Jens Castrop returns. “You can see a little light on the horizon,” Blessin said.
The win at Stuttgart brought Gladbach their first points after six Bundesliga defeats since the start of the season. Seventeen-year-old Wael Mohya scored one goal and set up another in that match.
Karlsruhe arrive in poor shape as well after a 6-1 loss at Magdeburg in the second division on Saturday. Coach Max Senft is without Moritz Broschinski and Héliton, while goalkeeper Hansi Bernat (back), Sebastian Jung (muscle) and Rafael Pinto Pedrosa (ankle ligament) were doubtful. About 4,000 Karlsruhe fans are expected. The teams met in the same round a year ago, when Gladbach won 3-1.