FC Augsburg vs. SC Freiburg preview: Hosts looking to end five-game winless run
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Augsburg
After an impressive start to the Bundesliga season, Augsburg have struggled to maintain their early momentum and are now without a win in five.
Manuel Baum's side opened the campaign with convincing wins over Schalke and Eintracht Frankfurt, but have since recorded three draws and two defeats, leaving them ninth with nine points.
However, Augsburg returned to winning ways on Tuesday, defeating Sonnenhof Großaspach 4-2 in the DFB-Pokal, with Rodrigo Ribeiro netting twice before substitutes Arijon Ibrahimovic and Anton Kade secured the victory.
Despite their recent Bundesliga struggles, the hosts have not lost at the WWK Arena in seven months, and Baum will hope to extend that impressive record on Saturday.
Team news
Augsburg will be without Juma Bah, who is suspended after his red card against Union Berlin last weekend.
Calvin Brackelmann is also unavailable as he continues to recover from the concussion he sustained in the same match, while Noahkai Banks and Steve Mounié remain sidelined.
Click here to see our predicted Augsburg lineup
Freiburg
Freiburg will be hoping to get their Bundesliga campaign back on track after suffering consecutive league defeats for the first time this season.
Those results - 2-1 and 3-1 losses against Leverkusen and Bayern Munich - have seen Julian Schuster's side drop from first to third in the Bundesliga, although they remain just four points behind leaders Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.
A disappointing 3-0 defeat away at Monaco in the Conference League also added to their difficult spell, but they finally had something to celebrate on Wednesday.
Trailing 2-1 against Wolfsburg in the DFB-Pokal, Freiburg were rescued by substitute Keisuke Goto, who scored twice in the final 15 minutes to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory.
Now, Schuster will be looking for his side to carry that momentum into Augsburg, although the visitors face a difficult task against a team unbeaten at home since March.
Team news
The Black Forest club have several injury concerns ahead of Saturday's encounter, with Philipp Treu a doubt after being forced off during Wednesday's victory over Wolfsburg.
Derry Scherhant and Jordy Makengo both missed that match due to minor injuries, although Schuster remains hopeful that the pair will be available.
Fisnik Muslija, Bruno Ogbus and Berkay Yilmaz also remain sidelined, while Goto could be pushing for a starting place after his match-winning contribution against Wolfsburg.
