Augsburg vs Stuttgart preview
Watch Augsburg vs Stuttgart preview, as Augsburg hosts Stuttgart in the Bundesliga match after Augsburg will be planning for bouncing back from the successive defeats.
The visitors, meanwhile, can move two points behind their forthcoming opponents with a victory as they attempt to avoid relegation to the second tier. Indeed, having only collected two points from their last five league games, Augsburg are not completely safe just yet as they attempt to increase their impressive 12-year stay in the Bundesliga.
Former Borussia Dortmund II head coach Enrico Maassen has undoubtedly made Fuggerstadter more entertaining on the eye during his first campaign in charge of the club, but results have remained inconsistent. In fact, as far as their away form goes, they have been consistently bad.
Despite battling hard against Champions League qualification-chasing RB Leipzig on Saturday, Augsburg fell to their eighth defeat in their last 10 away trips in the Bundesliga, having failed to win any of those matches.
As such, with their final two home games coming against third-placed Union Berlin and second-placed Borussia Dortmund, it is absolutely crucial that Maassen’s side do not succumb to defeat against Stuttgart at the WWK Arena on Friday, otherwise they will almost certainly be dragged deep in to the relegation mire across the closing weeks of the campaign.
Team News and Injury
Augsburg will be without the suspended Jeffrey Gouweleeuw, who received his 10th booking of the season during his side’s 3-2 defeat to Leipzig last time out. Former West Ham United defender Reece Oxford could be called upon from the cold to partner Felix Uduokhai, who made his first start since February at the Red Bull Arena.
Rafal Gikiewicz, Mergim Berisha, Niklas Dorsch, Kelvin Yeboah, Andre Hahn and Tobias Strobl all remain sidelined through injury for the hosts, who are likely to recall Ruben Vargas to their starting XI in an attempt to increase their offensive output.
Stuttgart, meanwhile, will travel without Mavropanos due to suspension after the Greece defender’s red card against Dortmund, with Hiroki Ito likely to replace him in the visitors’ back three providing that he has recovered from illness.
Nikolas Nartey and Luca Pfeiffer also missed the 3-3 draw against Dortmund due to an infection, but they should be passed fit to make the matchday squad should they be selected by Hoeness.
The former Hoffenheim boss may be tempted to hand Silas a starting berth after the winger’s dramatic strike from the bench against BVB, with Enzo Millot potentially making way.
Augsburg vs Stuttgart head-to-head stats
The two southern German rivals have squared off 51 times in all competitions since 1945. The visitors have a better record in these meetings with 27 wins and the hosts have 16 wins to their name. Meanwhile, just eight games have ended in draws.
The last six meetings between the two teams have produced conclusive results, with four wins for the visitors and two games going the hosts’ way, with these matches producing over 2.5 goals.
Augsburg have a better record at home against the visitors and have won six of their last eight meetings at Friday’s venue.
The hosts are winless in their last five league outings, suffering three defeats in that period. The visitors have just one win in their travels this season in the Bundesliga.
Augsburg vs Stuttgart Prediction
The hosts have just one win in their last five meetings against the visitors. They have a slightly better record at home, recording six wins in eight games. Five of their eight wins in the league this season have come at home and they will be hopeful of a positive outcome. They are winless in their last five games, which is a cause for concern.
Die Schwaben have just one win in their away games this season. They have conceded 31 of their 50 goals this season in 14 away games, keeping just one clean sheet in that period.
Considering Augsburg’s struggles in their recent games and Stuttgart’s poor away form, the two teams are expected to play out a draw.
