Pre-season friendly
VfL Borussia Monchengladbach v West Ham United
Waldstadion, Ruhpolding, Germany
Saturday 17 July 2010
Kick-off: 6.30pm
HIGHLIGHTS AND REACTION TO COME ON WHUTV I LIVE TEXT COMMENTARY ON WHUFC.COM
Introduction
• West Ham United will take on Bundesliga side VfL Borussia Monchengladbach in their second pre-season friendly in Germany on Saturday evening.
• Avram Grant's Hammers will face Borussia at the Waldstadion home of lower-league club SV Ruhpolding, with kick-off at 6.30pm local time.
• The match will be the first of two contested by West Ham during their pre-season training camp in Germany. A second match has been arranged, with the Hammers facing Greek champions Panathinaikos just across the border in Austria in Kitzbuhel on Friday 23 July.
Last meeting
• West Ham United have never met Borussia Monchengladbach before.
Last time out
Wednesday 14 July 2010
Pre-season friendly
Peterborough United - West Ham United
West Ham United: Kurucz, Faubert (Spence 46), Da Costa (Tomkins 46), Gabbidon (Fry 46), Brown (Ilunga 46, McNaughton 75), Noble (Dyer 46, Abdulla 75), Kovac (Lee 46, Eyjolfsson 82), Hitzlsperger (Edgar 46), Boa Morte (Sears 46), Stanislas (Montano 46), Cole (McCarthy 46)
Sub not used: Stech
Goals: Cole 13, Edgar 65
Tuesday 13 July 2010
Pre-season friendly
EVV Echt 2-1 Borussia Monchengladbach
Borussia Monchengladbach: Bailly, Jaures (Wissing 46), Brouwers (Daems 46), Dante (Heubach 46), Jantschke (Levels 46), Neustadter (Dowidat 46), Alberman (Meeuwis 46), Arango (Marx 46), Herrmann (Korb 35), Backer (Bobadilla 46), Hesse (Reus (46)
Goals: Dante 30
West Ham United
• West Ham United will be seeking to make a positive start under new manager Avram Grant, having ended last season in 17th place in the Barclays Premier League table.
• West Ham will continue their pre-season training camp with a fixture against Greek champions Panathinaikos just across the border in Austria in Kitzbuhel on Friday 23 July.
• The Hammers began their pre-season schedule with a 2-1 victory at League One side Peterborough United on Wednesday evening. Grant used 24 players at London Road, handing a debut to new signing Thomas Hitzlsperger. Goals either side of half-time from Carlton Cole and Anthony Edgar were enough to give the new manager a successful start to his reign.
• Young professionals Matt Fry, Olly Lee and Edgar have all signed new contracts with the club and will hope to impress the new manager this season. Defender Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson will also be eager to push on after spending the second half of last season on loan at Belgian side KSV Roeselare.
• A number of players have departed from West Ham since the end of the 2009/10 season. Josh Payne, Bondz 'Gala, Ilan, Guille Franco, Davide Ferrari, Danny Kearns, Terry Dixon and Tony Brookes have all departed after their respective contracts expired, while Mido's short-term loan from Middlesbrough was not renewed.
• Grant's side will kick-off their Premier League campaign with a trip to Aston Villa on Saturday 14 August.
Borussia Monchengladbach
• Borussia Monchengladbach finished the 2009/10 Bundesliga season in 12th place, having gathered 39 points from 34 matches.
• Borussia are coached by former Borussia Monchengladbach, VfB Stuttgart, Manchester City and Germany defender Michael Frontzeck. The 46-year-old took charge at Borussia-Park in June 2009.
• The club won five Bundesliga titles in the space of eight seasons between 1969/70 and 1976/77. During the so-called 'Golden Decade' in the club's history, Borussia also reached the European Cup final in 1977, losing to Liverpool, won the UEFA Cup in both 1975 and 1979 and also reached the UEFA Cup final twice more. During their 1970s heyday, Borussia also achieved a Bundesliga record 12-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in April 1978.
• Borussia made a fine start to their own pre-season schedule, defeating local league sides FC Ottenstein (9-0), SV Bergisch Gladbach 09 (4-0) and Wegberg-Beeck (5-0) without conceding a goal.
• On Tuesday evening, Borussia took on Dutch outfit EVV Echt and were beaten 2-1. Brazilian defender Dante scored the German side's goal.
• Borussia had two representatives at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, both of whom faced England. Michael Bradley was an ever-present in the United States midfield in their four matches, while attacker Karim Matmour started all three of Algeria's Group C fixtures. New signing Mo Idrissou was also a member of the Cameroon squad before joining Borussia earlier this month.
• Former Tottenham Hotspur full-back Paul Stalteri, who scored the dramatic late winner in Spurs' 4-3 Premier League win at the Boleyn Ground in March 2007 - a result that sparked the Hammers' 'Great Escape' from relegation - is also a member of the Borussia squad.
• Borussia have signed Cameroon forward Mo Idrissou from Bundesliga rivals SC Freiburg. The 30-year-old appeared in all three of his country's group-stage fixtures at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
• Frontzeck's side will begin their Bundesliga campaign with a home match against 1. FC Nurnberg on the weekend of 21/22 August.
Team news
• West Ham United will be without their four representatives at the 2010 FIFA World Cup - England's Robert Green and Matthew Upson, Switzerland's Valon Behrami and the United States' Jonathan Spector - as well as Scott Parker, who returned to training this week after spending the early part of his summer with England's provisional World Cup squad. Frederic Piquionne will also not play after joining up with the squad for training on Saturday.
• Fabio Daprela could figure after missing Wednesday's trip to Peterborough United with a twisted ankle suffered in training.
• Jack Collison and Young Hammer of the Year Zavon Hines will be unavailable as both continue their recovery from long-term knee injuries.
• Thomas Hitzlsperger will be on familiar ground, as the German spent the past five years at VfB Stuttgart before a brief stay with S.S. Lazio earlier this year.
• Frank Nouble will also be absent due to his commitments with England at the UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals in France, starting with Sunday's game against Austria.
• Borussia could include new signing Mo Idrissou after the Cameroon international forward completed a move from Bundesliga rivals SC Freiburg.
General information
• The weather forecast is for a sunny day with a top temperature of around 27C.