Augsburg will host Borrusia Dortmund in an important match at the WWK Arena this Friday. It hasn’t been so easy for Augsburg this season.
They are currently in the 14th position at the Bundesliga table with 7 points from their first eight games and they have struggled with scoring and defence.
Their defense isn’t firm and home games has been a tough one for them lately. Augsburg’s recent defeat came from Bayern Munich where they lost 3-2 to them, Softfootball reported.
On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund are more stable and are ready to keep up their momentum as they are currently sitting 4th in the Bundesliga table, having won five of their first eight matches.
Dortmund aims to build their recent form after a strong performance against Eintracht Frankfurt while Augsburg look to showcase their skills in the match against one of Germany’s top teams.
Speaking in a pre-match interview, Dortmund manager as shared in the club’s official X handle, Niko Kovač shared updates about his players and his thoughts about team’s approach.
We came through the Frankfurt game well. Niklas Süle has a bruised toe, but everyone else is fully fit. Ramy Bensebaini trained today and will be available for selection tomorrow.
He also talked about Julien Duranville and the club’s plans to take things slowly with him after his recovery from injury.
After his break over the last few months, Julien Duranville will initially be getting some playing time with the U23s. There he can get fit, find his feet, and work on everything else. We’re not rushing anything with him.
About Waldemar Anton, the Dortmund manager praised his consistency and leadership within the team.
Niko Kovač showed respect for the opponent and urged his team to focus on themselves despite their strong position.
We’re not overestimating the situation in Augsburg. It certainly won’t be easy for us; every Bundesliga game is difficult. We’re focusing on ourselves and want to play our game.
Augsburg’s manager, Sandro Wagner also gave a statement ahead of the match as shared in the club’s verified X handle,
We want to get the momentum on our side. Nothing is given to you for free in the Bundesliga. I told the team that too. We are workers and we have to work our way back in together!
His words shows that Augsburg is ready to fight hard and rebuild form after recent inconsistent results.
Teams News
For Augsburg, players who wouldn’t be joining the match are Jeffrey Gouweleeuw and Anton Kade due to injuries. On Dortmund’s side, Julien Duranville, Emre Can, Aarón Anselmino will not be available because of injuries and Cole Campbell will be away on international duty.
Possible Lineups
Augsburg (3-4-2-1): Finn Dahmen; Kristijan Jakić, Chrislain Matsima, Noahkai Banks; Robin Fellhauer, Han-Noah Massengo, Elvis Rexhbeçaj, Dimitrios Giannoulis; Fabian Rieder, Elias Saad, Mert Kömür
Dortmund (4-2-3-1): Gregor Kobel; Waldemar Anton, Nico Schlotterbeck, Ramy Bensebaini; Julian Ryerson, Pascal Groß, Marcel Sabitzer, Daniel Svensson; Karim Adeyemi, Maximilian Beier, Serhou Guirassy.
Prediction
With Augsburg’s defensive problems and Dortmund’s strong form away from home, we are looking at a 1-3 scoreline with Dortmund winning. Augsburg 1-3 Dortmund.
