Tactics
Augsburg boss Enrico Maaßen mostly went with a back three at the start of the season, but has since switched to a 4-4-2 system with two defensive midfielders. Carlos Gruezo and Elvis Rexhbecaj have been the first-choice pairing in the middle of the park, but both are suspended after collecting their fifth bookings of the campaign last time out, meaning Maaßen will be forced into changes.
Absentees
As well as Gruezo and Rexhbecaj, the hosts are without Tobias Strobl, Noah Joel Sarenren Bazee, Reece Oxford, André Hahn, Niklas Dorsch and Robert Gumny, who are all injured.
Oliver Glasner is without injured trio Makoto Hasebe, Christopher Lenz and Aurélio Buta for the trip to Bavaria, while Timothy Chandler and Daichi Kamada are ruled out through illness.
One to watch: Florian Niederlechner
Florian Niederlechner is in form right now. The 32-year-old has registered two goals and one assist in his last three Bundesliga appearances – the same number of goal involvements he had in the 17 previous matches put together.
- Niederlechner has been leading the line for FCA since summer 2019, having previously played for SC Freiburg and 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga.
- In total he’s scored 42 goals and set up 21 in 178 Bundesliga appearances to date.
- With 25 goals, the forward is the fourth highest-scoring player in Augsburg’s top-flight history.
Key battle: Jeffrey Gouweleeuw vs. Jesper Lindström
The Augsburg defence, built around captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw, have conceded 14 goals in their last five games in all competitions. Now they’re coming up against the second best attack in the league.
One player who’s been key to that is Jesper Lindström, with five goals to his name already this term. Together with Randal Kolo Muani, who currently leads the Bundesliga assists chart with seven, the Dane will try to pick apart the Augsburg rearguard with his skill. Gouweleeuw and his defensive colleagues can counter that with their robustness and tackling strength in particular.
