After a pulsating DFB cup draw in midweek, two Bavarian sides in FC Augsburg and FC Bayern will once again meet up in the Bundesliga on Saturday at the WWK Arena. This will be the 11th meeting between the two sides with Bayern having won eight of their previous ten fixtures against the fellow Bavarians. FCA’s two wins came after Bayern had already wrapped up the league title.
The home side are on a winless streak of three games in a row and have won just once in their last six games. The poor run of form saw Dirk Schuster’s men drop to 12th in the table, tied with his former team Darmstadt but having a better goal difference. In midweek, Augsburg had a tiring game against Bayern, congesting the penalty area to keep out the Bayern attack at bay but this time, though, Dirk Schuster would be looking to add a more attacking gear into his side’s play.
With Raul Bobadilla injured, Schuster benched Icelandic striker Alfred Finnbogason and instead deployed former Dortmund attacker Dong-Won Ji, who repaid the faith by scoring a screamer past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer but his work ethic could again offer Augsburg with little stretch upfront. The introduction of Finnbogason however, could make things interesting for Die Fuggerstadter offense as the Iceland international has pace and willingness to press despite his poor form after joining permanently from Real Sociedad in the summer.
Many of the Augsburg players were the former employees of Bayern (youth teams mostly). Arif Ekin (until 2007), Philipp Max (2007-2010) and Tim Rieder (2000-2010) spent time in Bayern’s youth team. Whereas Markus Feulner used to play for the Reds from 1997 to 2004 whilst Takashi Usami was on Bayern’s books in the 2011-12 campaign.
League leaders Bayern have found form after a run of three winless matches all competitions. They are now unbeaten in 18 league matches as well as their last 13 on the road. Both of these runs are the best ongoing streaks in the division. The record champions have scored in each of their last 17 Bundesliga outings (also league best) whilst this season, FCB have netted 20 goals – a joint league high along with BVB.
The poor form of strikers Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller could be an issue for Carlo Ancelotti, however. Not just against Augsburg but in the longer run as well. Robert Lewandowski is on a five-game Bundesliga goal drought for the first time since winter 2013/14, whereas Thomas Muller is on an eight-match barren spell, yet to score a goal in the Bundesliga this season. However, the overall team has woke up to the task as Bayern have ten different goal scorers this season – also a league high. The likes of Joshua Kimmich, Thiago Alcantara have been pivotal for Die Roten this campaign.
Defensively, Bayern have been supreme, to say the least. Carlo Ancelotti’s side have just conceded only four goals this season. Manuel Neuer has the cleanest sheets than any of his league counterparts with five.
Team News
Injuries have been the main reason for Augsburg’s recent slump of form. Key players such as center backs
For Bayern, there are no injury worries as Carlo Ancelotti will once again have the privilege of choosing from the whole Bayern squad except for Franck Ribery, who is out for a few weeks due to his muscular problem.
Predicted Lineups
FC Augsburg: (4-2-3-1 formation): Marwin Hitz; Paul Verhaegh, Christoph Janker, Martin Hinteregger, Konstantinos Stafylidis; Gojco Kacar, Daniel Baier; Ja-Cheol Koo, Halil Altintop, Jonathan Schmid; Dong Won Ji
FC Bayern: (4-3-3 formation): Manuel Neuer; Rafinha, Javi Martinez, Mats Hummels, David Alaba; Thiago Alcantara, Xabi Alonso, Arturo Vidal; Arjen Robben, Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Müller
