Augsburg vs. RB Leipzig preview: Can the visitors continue their unbeaten run?
RB Leipzig will look to claim a fourth consecutive victory and extend their unbeaten run to seven games in all competitions when they face Augsburg on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the hosts will attempt to return to winning ways after suffering consecutive defeats.
Meanwhile, the hosts will attempt to return to winning ways after suffering consecutive defeats.
| Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Augsburg
Augsburg will be looking to bounce back after losing their previous two matches. The Fuggerstädter had enjoyed a four-game unbeaten run before facing Köln last weekend.
After giving up a 1-0 lead, Augbsurg looked to have secured a point when Daniel Caligiuri restored parity, but an 81st-minute winner from Steffen Tigges guided Köln to a 3-2 victory.
Another defeat followed in midweek when Augsburg played host to Bayern Munich in the DFB-Pokal. After beating the Bavarians 1-0 in the league earlier this season, the home side may have been confident of pulling off an upset. However, Julian Nagelsmann's side cruised to a 5-2 victory despite Mads Pedersen giving Augsburg an early lead in the cup tie.
Following the midweek defeat, the Fuggerstädter will now focus solely on the Bundesliga for the remainder of the 2022-23 season. They head into Saturday's in 12th place, with five points separating them from the bottom three, while they are only four points adrift of the top six.
Team News
Augsburg have a lengthy injury list to contend with. Andre Hahn, Tobias Strobl and Noah Sarenren-Bazee are sidelined with knee problems, while Niklas Dorsch and Felix Uduokhai are also ruled out.
There are also doubts over the availability of Mërgim Berisha, Rafal Gikiewicz, Robert Gumny and Reece Oxford.
RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig looked to have turned the corner under Marco Rose after the former Dortmund boss took over from Domenico Tedesco. Rose began his tenure with two defeats from his opening three games, but Leipzig have since returned to form with their last six games yielding five wins and a draw.
After beating Celtic in the Champions League and claiming a 3-2 victory over Hertha BSC last weekend, Leipzig turned their attention to the DFB-Pokal in midweek. A Yussuf Poulsen brace as well as goals from Mohamed Simakan and Benjamin Hendrichs guided their side to a 4-0 victory over Hamburg as they look to win the Pokal for the second straight season.
With a place in the third round of the cup secured, Leipzig will attempt to claim a fourth consecutive victory in all competitions on Sunday. The visitors currently sit in 11th place, but they are only three points adrift of the top four.
Although they are in impressive form, Leipzig are yet to win an away game in the league this season. However, a nine-game unbeaten run against Augsburg in the Bundesliga suggests that Leipzig will be confident of picking up at least a point from Saturday's contest.
Team News
Timo Werner and Marcel Halstenberg are both ruled out due to illness, while Rose has stated that a late decision will be made on the availability of Christopher Nkunku, Amadou Haidara and Dani Olmo.