Borussia M'gladbach vs Young Boys Predictions, Betting Tips, & Match Preview

Borussia Monchengladbach have taken a big step in the right direction after their 3-1 win over Young Boys in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League playoff round. Goals from Raffael and Hahn, alongside a deflected own goal, gave them their first away win in six consecutive UEFA competition matches. Gladbach’s vice president Rainer Bonhof has stated that the club remains wary of Young Boys and that they will not take this advantage for granted coming into the second leg. The two-time UEFA Cup winners have had a hard time in the Champions League over recent years. Last year they were drawn alongside Manchester City, Juventus and Sevilla in the group stages, where they finished last in the group (W1 D2 L3). No doubt the Germans will hope for a better draw this time around if they manage to hold onto their advantage here.

Young Boys, who finished second in the Swiss Super League last season, are allowed to be disappointed not to have taken more away from the first leg. The Swiss side had the lion’s share of chances and attempts on goal, with six on target compared to Borussia M’gladbach’s three, but ultimately weren’t clinical enough. Winger Miralem Sulejmani bagged the only goal for Young Boys, tapping in from close range after a quality driven cross by Yoric Ravet. All out attack will likely be the mentality for the visitors coming into this match. Young Boys need a three goal win or better to qualify for the group stages or a 3-1 win to take the sides into extra time.

While the Bundesliga side are the bookies’ favourites for this match, and we fancy the hosts here too, we feel that there is better value to be found than a bet on them to win at 2/5. Borussia M’gladbach already have the advantage they need after the first leg and with vice president Bonhof stating it is likely that they remain cautious heading into the second leg, we expect far fewer goals here as the Germans aim to see themselves through. Borussia Park is a fortress for Gladbach, with the hosts winning their last seven consecutive matches at home, and matters are made worse for the visitors just seeing their poor away record in the Champions League. Young Boys have lost four of their last five Champions League away matches to nil (one 2-0, one 3-0 and two 4-0 defeats) and with M’gladbach’s Swiss national team goalkeeper Yann Sommer back into the swing of things, we find it likely Young Boys will fail to score here.

Hence, under 3.5 goals at 4/5 and Borussia M’gladbach to win 2-0 at 17/2 are our top choice bets for this Champions League playoff second leg fixture.