Harry Potter does not often crop up in pre-match press conferences but such has been André Schubert's magic effect on Mönchengladbach that he had to refute allegations of wizardry.
- André Schubert has won his first six Bundesliga games as Gladbach coach
- Schubert says he has "no magic wand and no magic spells"
- Mönchengladbach claimed first UEFA Champions League point in Turin a fortnight ago
- If Juventus and City (who face Sevilla) both win they are assured of top-two spots
- Stephan Lichtsteiner could play for first time since heart surgery
Possible lineup
Mönchengladbach: Sommer; Nordveit, Christensen, Domínguez, Wendt; Xhaka, Dahoud, T Hazard, Johnson; Raffael, Stindl.
Out: Hahn (shinbone), Hermann (knee), N Schulz (knee), Stranzl (eye socket), Jantschke (shoulder)
Doubtful: Korb (thigh)
Mönchengladbach: Sommer; Nordveit, Christensen, Domínguez, Wendt; Xhaka, Dahoud, T Hazard, Johnson; Raffael, Stindl.
Out: Hahn (shinbone), Hermann (knee), N Schulz (knee), Stranzl (eye socket), Jantschke (shoulder)
Doubtful: Korb (thigh)
Juventus: Buffon; Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini, Evra; Sturaro, Marchisio, Pogba; Cuadrado, Mandžukić, Morata.
Out: Pereyra (thigh), Khedira (thigh)
Out: Pereyra (thigh), Khedira (thigh)
André Schubert, Mönchengladbach coach
Am I a wizard like Harry Potter? There is no big scar on my forehead. We have no magic wand and no magic spells. We work hard every day and luckily I have some magicians like Ibra [Traoré] on the pitch.
Am I a wizard like Harry Potter? There is no big scar on my forehead. We have no magic wand and no magic spells. We work hard every day and luckily I have some magicians like Ibra [Traoré] on the pitch.
Juventus are a very good side who have been very successful in recent years. But recent years has nothing to do with the here and now. We are not bad ourselves and want to pose problems. We have a plan to cope with Juve's tactical flexibility – tomorrow we will see if it is a good plan.
All boys started playing football because they enjoyed it. Being a professional can be arduous if you are not enjoying yourself. Sure, there are serious spells, but my team are doing a good job of enjoying themselves on the one hand and implementing our game plan on the other.
©AFP/Getty Images
Allegri: 'We've not managed back-to-back wins all season'
Massimiliano Allegri, Juventus coach
Gladbach are on a good run of six straight wins in the league, while we have not managed back-to-back wins all season. Last term things worked out well for us, but now we need to take it step by step as we've not even reached the round of 16. Maybe things looked easy last year, but replacing ten players is not easy – you can't do that in a day. The old and the new faces have to gel together. But I am optimistic because we have almost all our players available again.
Gladbach are on a good run of six straight wins in the league, while we have not managed back-to-back wins all season. Last term things worked out well for us, but now we need to take it step by step as we've not even reached the round of 16. Maybe things looked easy last year, but replacing ten players is not easy – you can't do that in a day. The old and the new faces have to gel together. But I am optimistic because we have almost all our players available again.
The Champions League is the highest level there is in football. In the league, you always have the chance to correct a bad patch, but in the Champions League every game is like a final.
Weekend results
Hertha 1-4 Mönchengladbach (Baumjohann 82pen; Wendt 26, Raffael 28, Xhaka 54pen, Nordtveit 90+1)
Mönchengladbach rose to fifth as their remarkable Bundesliga renaissance continued under caretaker coach André Schubert. Oscar Wendt, fit-again Raffael and Granit Xhaka's penalty put them 3-0 up before Alexander Baumjohann pulled one back. Håvard Nordtveit rounded things off.
Hertha 1-4 Mönchengladbach (Baumjohann 82pen; Wendt 26, Raffael 28, Xhaka 54pen, Nordtveit 90+1)
Mönchengladbach rose to fifth as their remarkable Bundesliga renaissance continued under caretaker coach André Schubert. Oscar Wendt, fit-again Raffael and Granit Xhaka's penalty put them 3-0 up before Alexander Baumjohann pulled one back. Håvard Nordtveit rounded things off.
Juventus 2-1 Torino (Pogba 19, Cuadrado 90+3; Bovo 51)
The Bianconeri claimed the Turin derby spoils thanks to Juan Cuadrado's last-gasp clincher. It looked as if the points would be shared when Paul Pogba's opener was cancelled out by Cesare Bovo, but the Colombia winger scrambled in a low cross deep into added time. Juve are up to tenth.
The Bianconeri claimed the Turin derby spoils thanks to Juan Cuadrado's last-gasp clincher. It looked as if the points would be shared when Paul Pogba's opener was cancelled out by Cesare Bovo, but the Colombia winger scrambled in a low cross deep into added time. Juve are up to tenth.
Form guide (all competitions, most recent first)
Mönchengladbach: WWWDWW
Juventus: WLWDDW
Mönchengladbach: WWWDWW
Juventus: WLWDDW
Reporter's view: Matthew Howarth
This is a must-win game for Gladbach if they still harbour serious ambitions of reaching the latter stages of the tournament. They go into the match in blistering form, though, and will fancy their chances of beating last season's finalists, who have so far failed to hit the heights of the previous campaign.
This is a must-win game for Gladbach if they still harbour serious ambitions of reaching the latter stages of the tournament. They go into the match in blistering form, though, and will fancy their chances of beating last season's finalists, who have so far failed to hit the heights of the previous campaign.
Did you know?
Mönchengladbach eliminated Juventus in the second round of the 1975/76 European Champion Clubs' Cup; find out more in our extensive match background.
Mönchengladbach eliminated Juventus in the second round of the 1975/76 European Champion Clubs' Cup; find out more in our extensive match background.
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