Foals depart for Ukraine

Borussia began their journey to Ukraine on Monday afternoon, with their Champions League away game against Shakhtar Donetsk set for 18:55 CET on Tuesday evening.

There’s no rest for the Foals at the moment, with barely any time to revel in Saturday’s 1-0 home win over RB Leipzig. Tuesday already provides the next challenge, with Gladbach set to take on Shakhtar Donetsk in their third UEFA Champions League group game on Tuesday. “It will be a very tricky game,” warned head coach Marco Rose. “Often the games that everyone else suggests will be the easiest end up being the toughest. I think that will be the case against Shakhtar.” A look at the Group B table is testament to that, with the Ukrainian champions leading the way after a 3-2 win in Madrid and a 0-0 draw against Inter. “We’re getting into the business end of the group stage now, so it’s a very important game for us,” said Rose.

Jantschke and Elvedi on board

Chartered flight X38962 departed Düsseldorf at 14:30 CET bound for Kiev, where Shakhtar currently play their home games. Three goalkeepers and 21 outfield players have made the journey, including centre-backs Nico Elvedi and Tony Jantschke, who have both been carrying muscle injuries. “Things are looking good for Tony. Nico will have treatment again today – we’ll have to wait and see if he can play on Tuesday or not,” said Rose. Denis Zakaria, Jordan Beyer (both not fully fit) and Andreas Poulsen (shoulder) remain unavailable, while Kaan Kurt, Mamadou Doucouré, Torben Müsel, Famana Quizera and Julio Villalba aren’t part of the travelling squad.

Schedule in Ukraine

After landing in Kiev at approximately 16:50 CET, the Foals will first head to the team hotel. Marco Rose and Jonas Hofmann will then address the media in a virtual press conference from 18:15 CET, before the team complete a pitch inspection at the capital’s Olympic Stadium. Final training ahead of tomorrow’s match already took place in Mönchengladbach before departure.