Overview

• Bottom of the Bundesliga and winless in 12 league matches, Borussia Mönchengladbach face Freiburg on Sunday night with several key attackers sidelined, including Tim Kleindienst, Robin Hack, Franck Honorat and Giovanni Reyna.
• Club executives Stefan Stegemann and Markus Aretz are leading an expedited search for a “strong personality with sporting expertise” to fill the vacant sporting director post during the break.
• SV Elversberg routed Magdeburg 4:0 to take the 2. Bundesliga lead, extending their surge to five wins and a draw from the last six matches.
• Schalke 04 earned a third straight victory with a 2:1 win at Arminia Bielefeld to climb to second place, as coach Miron Muslic is credited with stabilizing the side despite urging caution.
• In the Bundesliga, Stuttgart beat Heidenheim 1:0 through Bilal El Khannouss to rise to fourth, while Werder Bremen edged St. Pauli 1:0 and HSV thrashed Mainz 4:0 to continue upward trends.