Borussia Mönchengladbach Hosts Karlsruher SC in DFB-Pokal Second Round
The Bundesliga side looks to maintain momentum as a massive visiting crowd travels to Borussia-Park.
Borussia Mönchengladbach welcomed second-division side Karlsruher SC to Borussia-Park on Tuesday evening for a high-stakes second-round clash in the DFB-Pokal. Fresh off an uplifting 3-2 road victory against VfB Stuttgart in league play, the Bundesliga outfit entered the midweek cup tie seeking consecutive wins to stabilize what had been a tumultuous start to their competitive campaign.
Despite kickoff taking place on a Tuesday night and following a crushing 6-1 league defeat away at 1. FC Magdeburg three days earlier, Karlsruher SC traveled to the Rhineland with considerable enthusiasm. More than 4,000 supporters journeyed from Baden-Württemberg to back head coach Maximilian Senft's squad. The traveling contingent marked the largest away crowd inside Borussia-Park since Borussia Dortmund visited on May 3 during the final weeks of last season.
The surge of traveling fans sharply contrasted with local demand, as Gladbach faced its smallest total home attendance of the season. With several upper sections entirely closed and other sections sparsely populated, crowd projections pointed to around 40,000 spectators on Tuesday night. Mönchengladbach remains the only club in the Bundesliga yet to record a sold-out home section this season, following a recent league fixture that drew the stadium's lowest league crowd in seven years.
The encounter carried echoes of last season's DFB-Pokal campaign, when both clubs also met in the second round at the same venue. In that matchup, 48,023 spectators, including roughly 6,000 traveling supporters, watched Gladbach advance to the round of 16. Karlsruhe arrived on Tuesday hoping to script an upset and overcome the psychological weight of their recent blowout loss in Magdeburg.
Gladbach manager Alexander Blessin entered the match encouraged by an improving health report within his roster. The 53-year-old coach confirmed that 23-year-old midfielder Jens Castrop had recovered from a shoulder injury and earned selection back into the matchday squad against Karlsruhe, providing a major reinforcement to the club's midfield rotation.
Blessin revealed that several additional first-team regulars are nearing returns ahead of Saturday's upcoming Bundesliga fixture against SC Paderborn. Defender Ko Itakura has resumed full team training and is expected to dress for the weekend, while forwards Isac Lidberg and Nicolas Kühn are also tracking toward availability. Promising 19-year-old talent Fritz Fleck is slated to return to full training early next week following a muscle ailment.
The positive injury developments offer significant relief to a Mönchengladbach team that came perilously close to setting an unwanted Bundesliga record of seven straight defeats to start a season. A heavily depleted squad managed to avert that fate with the weekend win in Stuttgart, signaling to returning players that starting positions must be re-earned on merit.
Uncertainty remains regarding other key contributors on the sideline. Blessin did not provide progress reports on 31-year-old forward Tim Kleindienst, who continues to deal with a torn muscle fiber, or 19-year-old Jan Leszczynski, who remains sidelined by a knee injury. Even with those lingering absences, the manager noted that "a bit of light on the horizon" has emerged as the squad navigates its congested schedule.