Moenchengladbach out to topple cup holders Schalke

Published: 21 Dec 2011 - 03:16:55

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Moenchengladbach out to topple cup holders Schalke

Borussia Moenchengladbach will look to rubber-stamp their good form thus far this season when they face the equally in-form Schalke 04 in the last 16 of the German Cup on Wednesday.

Gladbach, five-time German champions and twice winners of the UEFA Cup, lie in an impressive fourth place in the Bundesliga, only months after they preserved their elite status with a relegation play-off win over VfL Bochum.

However, they may well be without their impressive attacking midfielder Marco Reus, who returned from a big toe injury for the 1-0 win over Mainz at the weekend but suffered a knock to his knee during the match.

Schalke, though, will provide a tough challenge as not only are they the holders but also come into the match on the back of a 5-0 thumping of Werder Bremen, in which veteran Spanish striker Raul scored a hat-trick.

Raul also scored the only goal when the two sides met in the league in August.

Wednesday will also see fourth division outfit Holstein Kiel eyeing a potential giant-killing as they host struggling Mainz.

Fixtures (1800GMT unless otherwise stated)

Wednesday:

Hertha Berlin v Kaiserslautern, Holstein Kiel v Mainz, VfB Stuttgart v SV Hamburg (1930GMT), Borussia Moenchengladbach v Schalke 04 (1930GMT)