Bundesliga Clash: Augsburg Faces Off Against Bayer Leverkusen in an Epic Showdown

When Bayer Leverkusen visits Augsburg on Friday night, they will be looking to go back to winning ways. Augsburg, on the other hand, lost their most recent game and are now just two points above the Bundesliga's relegation spots.

Match preview

Augsburg lost 3-1 away to high-flying Freiburg last weekend, after their 1-0 victory against Borussia Monchengladbach at home, their only other Bundesliga victory this season.

Freiburg always seemed like the more dangerous team, even though they had more possession, shots, and corners for the whole 90 minutes. Michael Gregoritsch and Lucas Holer scored goals each side of Mergim Berisha's penalty to give the home team a 2-1 lead at the break.

After the intermission, Enrico Maassen's team put a lot of effort into trying to tie the score, but with only five minutes left in regular time, Philipp Lienhart's late goal calmed any rising tensions inside Europa-Park Stadion.

Maassen will be hoping for another impressive performance on home soil on Friday night as avoiding defeat against Leverkusen would ensure that Augsburg remain outside of the bottom three for at least another weekend due to their significantly superior goal difference compared to VfL Bochum (who currently occupy the relegation playoff spot).

Fuggerstadter won't have an easy time with the visitors, though, especially after they lost 2-0 at home to Borussia Dortmund the previous weekend, ending their five-game winning run.

After making significant progress up the table with their incredible winning streak, victory would have put Xabi Alonso's team within four points of their rivals. However, Karim Adeyemi's goal in the 33rd minute gave BVB something to hang onto for the remainder of the game.

Leverkusen dominated the match at BayArena, having 21 shots, 57% of the play, and eight corners. However, Dortmund was the more clinical team that day and were fortunate to win thanks to Edmond Tapsoba's own goal. Edin Terzic's team now sits 10 points ahead of Leverkusen in the Champions League spots.

Even if his team has suffered a loss for the first time in precisely three months, Alonso will be pleased with the progress his team has achieved under his leadership thus far. Since assuming the team in early October, he has quickly led them out of the relegation zone.

Even though earning a European qualification spot might be very challenging this year, the former Real Madrid midfielder is eager to beat Monaco in the Europa League round of 32 later this month. He also wants to keep winning games in the Bundesliga and watch where they end up in May.

Team News

Ermedin Demirovic, who was booked for the sixth time this season against Freiburg, will be sidelined for Augsburg. Given that wingers Ruben Vargas and Andre Hahn are still out due to injuries to their ankles and knees, respectively, Mads Pedersen may start David Colina at left back and go farther forward.

It's assumed that Irvin Cardona, Reece Oxford, Iago, and Tobias Strobl will stay on the injured list, thus Maassen won't likely make any more changes to his starting lineup.

Meanwhile, Leverkusen will be without Callum Hudson-Odoi and Patrik Schick because of recent muscle injuries, while Charles Aranguiz and Andrey Lunev will not travel because of calf and back problems, respectively.

After witnessing his team appear a bit too exposed defensively during Dortmund's transition, Alonso could be considering switching up his lineup. Mitchel Bakker might start at left wing-back.

Augsburg possible starting lineup:

Gikiewicz; Gumny, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai, Colina; Maier, Engels, Rexhbecaj, Pedersen; Beljo, Berisha

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:

Hradecky; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Palacios, Andrich, Bakker; Diaby, Wirtz, Adli