Coach Adi Hütter is threatened with two absences on the left side of defence at the start of the second half of the season. This increases the chances for youngster Luca Netz to make his first start.
Corona alert in Munich, but coach Adi Hütter also has a long way to go before he can draw on his full squad at Borussia. Jonas Hofmann (knee surgery) has only just started running training, Jordan Beyer still has to make up ground after a muscle injury and Corona infection, Ramy Bensebaini is preparing for the Africa Cup with the Algerian national team, plus the quarantine of Denis Zakaria, Joe Scally, Mamadou Doucouré and Keanan Bennetts – that limits the options for the VfL coach. On the left side of defence, the decision could already have been made as to who will be in the starting eleven on Friday in Munich: Everything speaks for Luca Netz.
Strong man Bensebaini is out because of the upcoming Africa Cup and basically also the possible backup Scally because of the quarantine – because even in case the US-American is allowed to leave the isolation in time, he lacks training and practice. That leaves Netz, who in his first six months in Gladbach has already found his feet on the left bank of the Lower Rhine anyway.
An assist in the 5:0
Twelve appearances in the Bundesliga, eight of which came from Berlin Hertha. Two more appearances in the DFB Cup make for an even better tally. Netz could be personally very satisfied with that at the turn of the year – and he was. Especially since the 18-year-old also made it into the German U-21 national team. “The change was definitely worth it. I had a clear plan – and it has worked out perfectly so far,” said Netz in November.
Should it actually happen and the youngster start from the beginning in Munich, he can draw on his positive Bayern experience from the first half of the season. In the 5:0 win in the DFB Cup at the end of October, Netz was substituted in the 54th minute of the game and even recorded an assist with the assist for the fifth goal, which Breel Embolo scored. In the 1-1 draw between the two teams at the start of the Bundesliga, Netz was unused.
