Thorgan Hazard will be out to add to his joint-league-leading seven Bundesliga goals when Borussia Mönchengladbach travel to faltering Werder Bremen on Saturday (kick-off: 3.30pm CET/2.30pm GMT/10.30am ET).
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A surprise loss to lowly Mainz denied Werder the chance to jump back into the top four last weekend. It was the Green-Whites' second successive Bundesliga defeat, and also the second game in a row in which Claudio Pizarro scored consolation goals from the bench. Both he and provider of the Peruvian's 194th Bundesliga strike, Johannes Eggestein, are pushing for starting berths. Nuri Sahin will also hope to force his way back into the starting line-up, having been an unused substitute at the Opel Arena. USA international Josh Sargent anxiously awaits his maiden call-up to the senior side.
It has been a remarkable start to the season for Dieter Hecking's Gladbach, whose 3-0 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf in the Rhine derby propelled them into second place, just four points off unbeaten table-toppers Borussia Dortmund. Hazard has been the driving force behind the Foals' blistering form, bringing up his sixth and seventh goals of the campaign, against Fortuna, to move level with Paco Alcacer, Sebastien Haller and Luka Jovic at the top of the scoring charts. Raffael also returned in that game, with captain Lars Stindl making way. One of the two will join Hazard and Alassane Plea in attack in Bremen, but Nico Elvedi and Denis Zakaria - substituted off and absent on Matchday 10 respectively - are major doubts.
Match stats
Pizarro is the first 40-something to score more than one season goal in the Bundesliga.
Sargent has registered seven goals and two assists in 11 appearances for the Bremen reserves this season.
Bremen were unbeaten in 16 home matches prior to their 6-2 loss to Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 9.
Only Dortmund (30) have scored more than Gladbach's 23 league goals this term. Eintracht Frankfurt also have 23.
Hazard has scored seven goals in his last seven games - as many as older brother, Eden, of Chelsea.
Only Dortmund's Jadon Sancho (six) has more assists than Gladbach's Florian Neuhaus (five) in this season's Bundesliga. Frankfurt's Haller is also on five.
Probable line-ups
Bremen: Pavlenka - Veljkovic, Bargfrede, Moisander - Gebre Selassie, M. Eggestein, Sahin, Klaassen, Augustinsson - Osako, Kruse
Absentees: Bartels (ankle), Johannsson (fitness), Kapino (thigh), Käuper (ankle), Letterer (Pseudarthrosis)
Coach: Florian Kohfeldt
Gladbach: Sommer (c) – Lang, Ginter, Jantschke, Wendt – Neuhaus, Strobl, Hofmann - Stindl, Plea, Hazard
Absentees: Elvedi (ankle), Villalba (shoulder), Zakaria (knee)
Coach: Dieter Hecking