Augsburg hoping festive spirit rubs off
Munich - Despite the Oktoberfest being in full swing just down the road in Munich, FC Augsburg coach and native Bavarian Markus Weinzierl won't be attending the annual beer festival this season. "We don't have enough points for that," said the 37-year-old ahead of his side's fixture against SV Werder Bremen on Friday (kick-off 20:30 CET).
Making progress
Two points and two goals are all Augsburg have to show for their efforts so far in their second Bundesliga season. However, the league's bottom club are "not worrying" about the current situation, according to club president Walther Seinsch. "We expected this and also expect this to be the case until the end of the campaign."
In keeping with such sombre tones, Augsburg have never beaten Bremen in a competitive match. Nevertheless, they will be hoping to change that record in pursuit of an elusive inaugural victory this term. "We want to finally secure our first win of the season, but that goes without saying," said Weinzierl.
"We took another step forward against Hoffenheim because we were well organised at the back and let very little through. We'll build on that in order to try and create more chances up front," continued the coach, who has a clear gameplan in mind. "We can't let Werder Bremen play themselves into the match. Then we've got to be effective and clinical in front of goal."
Strong in the middle
While Bremen's Thomas Schaaf conceded that "there is obviously more expected of us than of Augsburg", the 51-year-old tactician will also be hoping his side can rediscover their goalscoring boots to move themselves up into the European places. However, although he is confident of bouncing back from the 2-0 defeat to Bayern last Saturday, Schaaf issued a warning to his charges, claiming that "Augsburg have not yet found the form they're capable of".
One area of the visiting side that is presently firing on all cylinders is the midfield. "We're having a lot of joy in that department and are seeing things that make us stronger," said Schaaf. is a case in point. The Bremen No14 has taken on the role of the orchestrator, scoring three and setting-up a further goal for his team-mates.
Summer signing on the other hand is yet to produce the kind of performances expected of him following his transfer, but Schaaf remains convinced the Dutchman "will score". A match against one of the leakiest defences in the league could provide the perfect opportunity for the winger to do just that.
Probable line-ups:
Augsburg: Amsif - Verhaegh, S. Langkamp, Klavan, Ostrzolek - Vogt, Baier - Petrzela, Moravek, Werner - Bance
Bremen: Mielitz - Gebre Selassie, Prödl, Sokratis, Fritz - Junuzovic - Arnautovic, Hunt, de Bruyne, Elia - Akpala
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