Heidenheim vs. Augsburg preview: Jess Thorup begins his tenure
Jess Thorup will look to begin his reign as Augsburg boss with a positive result when his side face Heidenheim on Sunday.
| Photo: FC Augsburg |
Heidenheim
Heidenheim will be content with the start they have made to their first-ever Bundesliga season. After beginning the campaign with consecutive defeats, Heidenheim picked up their first top-flight point on matchday three when they came from two goals down to draw with Borussia Dortmund. They followed that positive result with a memorable 4-2 victory in their home meeting with Werder Bremen.
Since recording their first-ever Bundesliga win, Heidenheim have lost away games to Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt either side of a 1-0 home win against Union Berlin. Having collected seven points from as many games, the newly-promoted side head into the weekend in 10th position, leaving them three points above the drop zone.
Having only picked up one of those points from their four away games, Frank Schmidt’s side will be pleased to have home advantage for Sunday’s contest. The hosts will be looking to claim a third consecutive home win and put more distance between themselves and the bottom three.
Team News
Although the hosts have reported no fresh injury concerns, they are still unable to call upon Elidon Qenaj due to a knee problem.
Augsburg
Augsburg return from the international break with a new manager after Enrico Maaßen was relieved of his duties following a 2-1 defeat to Darmstadt. After winning just one of their opening seven league matches, the Augsburg hierarchy felt it was time for a change.
Jess Thorup was subsequently appointed as Maaßen ‘s successor, and the former Copenhagen boss takes over a side that are currently languishing in 15th position, with just one point separating them from the bottom three.
Thorup will be desperate to get off to a winning start, but Augsburg’s poor form on the road suggests that claiming all three points could prove difficult. Since beating Schalke 04 in October 2022, the Fuggerstädter have gone 16 away league games without picking up a victory, conceding at least two goals in 15 of those matches. Augsburg are also one of two teams yet to pick up an away point this season, having lost all three of their away league games.
Team News
The visitors are expected to be without the services of Raphael Framberger, Kevin Mbabu, Reece Oxford, Masaya Okugawa and Ruben Vargas. There are also doubts over the availability of Tottenham Hotspur loanee Japhet Tanganga.