Augsburg vs. Mainz 05 preview: Two winless sides face off
Augsburg and Mainz will both be vying for their first win of the season when they go head-to-head on Saturday.
Augsburg
Augsburg head into the weekend in 15th position after picking up just two points from their opening four games. After beginning the season with an entertaining 4-4 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach, the Fuggerstädter fell to a 3-1 defeat at home to Bayern Munich. They had to settle for a point on matchday three after giving up the lead on two occasions to draw 2-2 with Bochum.
Hopes of claiming their first win of the season last weekend were quickly dashed by a rampant RB Leipzig side, who racked up three goals in the opening half-hour to condemn Augsburg to a disappointing 3-0 away defeat.
Including last season, Augsburg have now gone seven Bundesliga games without picking up a victory. Enrico Maaßen will be concerned with the fact his side conceded at least two goals in each of those seven matches. While they may be struggling defensively, the hosts will at least be confident of troubling the scorers after finding the net in 10 of their last 11 home league matches.
Team News
Tottenham Hotspur loanee Japhet Tanganga will have to wait a little longer to make his debut, as he continues to recover from a knee injury. The defender is joined on the sidelines by Raphael Framberger, Masaya Okugawa, Reece Oxford and Frederik Winther.
Mainz 05
After collecting just one point from their final five games of the 2022-23 campaign, Mainz been unable to change their fortunes in the opening stages of the new season. They were thrashed 4-1 by Union Berlin in their league opener, before they were denied a win on matchday two when Eintracht Frankfurt equalised in stoppage time.
Mainz have reacted poorly to conceding that late leveller after going to lose 4-0 away to Werder Bremen before they lost 3-1 at home to high-flying Stuttgart. As a result of their poor start, Mainz are currently languishing at the foot of the Bundesliga table on goal difference.
With Bo Svensson’s side looking to claim their first win since beating Bayern Munich 3-1 in April, they may view Saturday’s meeting against Augsburg as a golden opportunity to claim maximum points. Die Nullfünfer recorded a league double over the Bavarian side last season, winning 2-1 in the away encounter, before they claimed a 3-1 victory on home turf in February.
Team News
Mainz are unable to call upon the services of Andreas Hanche-Olsen, Maxim Leitsch,
Silvan Widmer, Nelson Weiper and Jonathan Burkardt.