Augsburg vs. Köln preview: Hosts looking to achieve historic feat of European football
Augsburg are in an astonishing position as they have an opportunity to grab seventh place at home on Sunday, whereas Köln are fighting for survival in the unfortunate league position of seventeenth.
| Photo: 1. FC Köln |
Augsburg
Augsburg are in red hot form under Jess Thorup. A 3-1 away win against Wolfsburg before the international break ensured they continued their winning streak.
With four wins in a row, Augsburg have the second most consecutive victories in the Bundesliga (with only Bayer Leverkusen having more).
In spite of this, Augsburg's top scorer with fourteen goals in Ermedin Demirović will be out for the Bavarian side with suspension.
Adding to this, Augsburg do not have the best record this season against sides within the current bottom three. Earlier in this campaign, they lost to Darmstadt and drew to Köln.
Their last loss in the Bundesliga also came against a bottom three side in Bo Henriksen's Mainz.
Ahead of the game against 1. FC Köln, Augsburg's head coach Jess Thorup said: "We want to retain that confidence of recent games, want to maintain that flow. It won't be an easy game."
Team news
For Augsburg, they have a huge loss in Ermedin Demirović who is suspended due to yellow card accumulation. Robert Gumny and Reece Oxford are also out for Sunday's tie.
Niklas Dorsch has a foot injury and will miss the game and Raphael Framberger has a knee problem which has also ruled him out. Patric Pfeiffer remains a doubt due to a thigh issue.
Köln
Köln undertook a six day training camp in Algorfa, Spain over the international break with the hope of revitalising their poor season under coach Timo Schultz.
Over two weeks ago, in their last league game, it was a second half to forget for Schultz as his side were dismantled by a free-flowing RB Leipzig attack.
One hope for the Billy Goats will be the proposition of a starting eleven position for their top scorer Davie Selke who has scored five goals in the Bundesliga this campaign.
Despite struggling heavily to score goals, Köln have not been terrible at the back as they have conceded less goals than five teams in the Bundesliga including the likes of Freiburg and Hoffenheim.
Finally, before Sunday's game, Köln's head coach Timo Schultz said: "We're expecting an opponent that's confident, physically strong and in good form. Augsburg are extremely awkward for any opponent."
Team news
Justin Diehl is still out with a muscular injury and so is Mark Uth with a knee problem. Luca Kilian will most likely miss the rest of the season due to an injury he picked up in training this week.
Leart Paqarada and Luca Waldschmidt are both doubts, with the latter returning from a long-term injury that saw him in crutches in January.