Winless on the road: Gladbach aiming to attack more

It was the surprise news of the winter break: Gladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer, a constant for Borussia in recent years, left for Bayern after making 335 appearances for the club. But his replacement was swiftly in place. Fellow Swiss shot-stopper Jonas Onlin arrived on the Lower Rhein from Montpellier and has kept goal in the first two games of the year.

But the 29-year-old is still pointless with his new employers. A 3-2 defeat to Leverkusen last weekend was followed by another loss for Borussia away to Augsburg in midweek. That has put a dampener on any hopes of European football. Borussia currently occupy ninth place in the table, with a six-point cushion over the relegation play-off place but nine points adrift of the European berths. That means the coming weeks are likely to be defining for Gladbach, even if the management seem satisfied with their current placement. "Internally, nobody has spoken about the international places," said sporting director Roland Virkus. The objective will be to finish in the top half of the table, which is where Borussia currently are.

Despite a reasonably satisfactory first half-season, the Foals have lacked an attacking edge – particularly in Augsburg. "I'm expecting us to invest more in attack in terms of movement and assertiveness," said coach Daniel Farke, as he outlined the approach for the game on Saturday. But Borussia have scarcely managed to do this on the road this term and are yet to win a game away from Borussia-Park all season.

The Foals have been spared any major injury misfortune of late and Farke is expecting to have almost all his players at his disposal in Sinsheim. But there is still a question mark hanging over 2014 World Cup winner Christoph Kramer, who stayed in the dressing room with a concussion on Wednesday evening. Former Hoffenheim man Jonas Hofmann also has a cold and are some doubts about his availability.

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