Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 8y

Gladbach want to 'cause Barcelona problems' - Andre Schubert

Borussia Monchengladbach have "no reason to be awestruck" when they host Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday, the club's head coach, Andre Schubert, has said.

The Foals suffered a 4-0 defeat at Manchester City in their first Champions League match of the season, but hope to fare better against Barca, who will be without the injured Lionel Messi.

"We haven't turned into favourites overnight just because Lionel Messi is not playing," Schubert told a prematch news conference, adding that he would have loved to find out "how we fare against him."

He added: "We also know that we are still up against an unbelievable team even if the best player in the world will not feature."

Last term, Gladbach finished last in their Champions League group which included Juventus, Sevilla and Manchester City, and Schubert knows it will be a tricky job to qualify from their group this time too.

"We will only succeed if we have a clear plan, confidence and a huge amount of courage," he said. "We will try to stay true to our style of play, to be full of energy, enjoy it and be ready to battle.

"We have no reason to be awestruck. We will see if we can cause some problems for Barcelona."

That is an attitude Thorgan Hazard shares. The in-form Belgium international told Sport Bild: "If we can access our best performance we stand a chance against every team, also against Barcelona."

Hazard added that his younger brother Ethan, 12, has asked him "to get Neymar's jersey." He said: "Let's see if I can fulfil that wish."

But Hazard will face competition for the shirt from teammate Raffael, whose sons also want the memento.

"They should come to the stadium in Borussia jerseys, and cheer us on. In return, I will try to swap jerseys with Neymar after the match," the Brazilian told Bild of his two sons, who are fans of the Brazil international.

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