Augsburg vs. Bayer Leverkusen preview: Hosts out to maintain 100% record
| Fabian Reider | Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images |
Augsburg
After achieving a top-half finish last term, the early signs suggest that Augsburg could be in for another productive campaign. Manuel Baum’s charges flew out of the blocks with a 3-0 home win over newly-promoted Schalke 04, before they pulled off another big win in last weekend’s away clash against Eintracht Frankfurt. Trailing at the break, Augsburg turned the contest in their favour within two minutes of the restart, thanks to an own goal and a Robin Fellhauer effort. Alexis Claude-Maurice and Fabian Reider then added their names to the scoresheet as Augsburg wrapped up a 4-1 victory.
As a result of their impressive start, Augsburg head into matchday three as the league leaders, boasting a goal difference advantage over the other three teams that boast a perfect record. They may fancy their chances of picking up another win in Saturday’s fixture after completing a league double over Leverkusen in the 2025-26 campaign. The Fuggerstädter claimed a 2-0 win in the home meeting before they came from behind to seal a 2-1 victory in April’s visit to the BayArena.
Team News
Augsburg midfielder Faik Sakar has been ruled out after picking up an ankle injury in training. The hosts are also without Tim Breithaupt, Sima Suso and Steve Mounié, while it remains to be seen whether Anton Kade will prove his fitness in time for the contest.
Click here to see Augsburg's predicted lineup for this fixture.
Bayer Leverkusen
Leverkusen boss Carles Martínez Novell has experienced a mixed start to his first season as a Bundesliga manager. Martínez Novell’s first Bundesliga match ended in a surprise away 3-2 defeat to newly-promoted Elversberg, with Leverkusen’s fightback from two goals down ultimately arriving too late to salvage a point.
Fortunately for the Spanish coach, he enjoyed a much better time in his opening home game, overseeing a commanding 4-0 win over Union Berlin. Equi Fernández, Facundo Medina, Patrik Schick and Ibrahim Maza all found the net as Leverkusen ran out comfortable winners, leaving them in seventh spot after the first two matchdays.
Die Werkself will now be looking to record a second straight victory before they turn their focus to their Europa League opener against Celje. While they experienced disappointment on their last trip to the WWK Arena, Leverkusen can take confidence from the fact they have won five of their previous eight away games against Augsburg.
Team News
Leverkusen are unable to call upon Montrell Culbreath, Kennet Eichhorn and Nathan Tella. In positive news, Guéla Doué and Eliesse Ben Seghir are set to feature in the matchday squad after recovering from their respective injury issues.
Click here to see Leverkusen's predicted lineup for this fixture.
