thehardtackle 
09-02-2024 12:22
09-02-2024 12:22
FC Augsburg vs RB Leipzig: Preview and Prediction
Team News and Tactics
FC Augsburg
FC Augsburg are dealing with two long-term absences. Right-back Raphael Framberger has been sidelined for more than six months due to a torn cruciate ligament. The absentee period is even longer for central defender Reece Oxford, who has been prevented from making an appearance for ten months due to a case of long-term COVID.
Midfielder Niklas Dorsch is currently having to sit out due to persistent groin problems, and attacker Dion Beljo has a muscle injury. Both are out for Saturday’s match.
Augsburg have bolstered their midfield in the winter. Kristijan Jakic arrived on loan from league rivals Eintracht Frankfurt. With his aggressive play style, the 26-year-old secured a regular spot in front of the defence almost straightaway. He should also bring more stability to the defence with the help of Niklas Dorsch.
Although he is still waiting for his first game without conceding a goal, Finn Dahmen has been a reliable presence in the Augsburg goal, having established himself as the starting goalkeeper.
Centre-back Jeffrey Gouweleeuw has become a real pillar of the team again alongside highly-rated Felix Uduokhai, so much so that Augsburg extended the 32-year-old’s stay for another year in January.
Striker Ermedin Demirovic is expected to play a significant role in Augsburg’s attack, as he has scored three goals in his past two games, bringing his season total to ten.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Dahmen; Mbabu, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai, Iago; Jensen, Jakic, Dorsch, Rexhbecaj; Tietz, Demirovic
RB Leipzig
Marco Rose has been greeted with positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. Against FC Augsburg on Saturday, Rose will have a full-strength squad of players to choose from this weekend, as Amadou Haidara is back after Mali’s elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations and Mohamed Simakan has served his one-match suspension.
RB Leipzig vice captain Péter Gulácsi was recalled to the starting eleven against Union Berlin after three successive defeats and could continue in place of Janis Blaswich in the goal. The visitors will line up in a 4-2-2-2 formation in front of him.
Defender Willi Orban, another former stalwart recalled, is a favourite to feature once more and should form the central defensive partnership alongside Lukas Klostermann, with Benjamin Henrichs and David Raum being the full-backs. The quartet will be defensive-minded in their approach, with the four attackers having the freedom to create overloads in the final third.
As for the midfield unit, Xavier Schlager and Seiwald will likely form the double pivot. The duo will look to shore up things in the middle of the park while enabling quick transitions.
Xavi Simons and Dani Olmo should play behind the strikers, having the freedom to make ghosting runs. Finally, Lois Openda and Benjamin Sesko will be the two strikers for Leipzig against Augsburg.
Probable Lineup (4-2-2-2): Blaswich; Henrichs, Klostermann, Orban, Raum; Seiwald, Schlager; Dani Olmo, Simons; Sesko, Openda
Key Stats Player to Watch
Ermedin Demirovic
Embed from Getty Images
Ermedin Demirovic has been the captain of FC Augsburg this season. The attacker, who came from SC Freiburg in the summer of 2022 in an exchange deal for Michael Gregoritsch, has now developed into a real goal-scoring phenom. With eleven goals this season, he is currently the fifth-best scorer in the Bundesliga.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina international also has a past at RB Leipzig, having went through the RBL Football Academy between 2014 and 2017, so he will be keen to silence some doubters.
Prediction
FC Augsburg 1-3 RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig got back to winning ways against Union Berlin last time out, though a test at Augsburg looks like a stiffer challenge.
Augsburg are the only Bundesliga team that has not yet kept a clean sheet this season. With a total of 37 goals conceded, the hosts have a porous defence, which should play into Leipzig’s hands. And Marco Rose’s men might run riot at home this weekend. The Hard Tackle thus predicts both teams to get onto the scoresheet, with the hosts clinching a 3-1 win. Tags: FC AugsburgMatch PreviewRB Leipzig
FC Augsburg
FC Augsburg are dealing with two long-term absences. Right-back Raphael Framberger has been sidelined for more than six months due to a torn cruciate ligament. The absentee period is even longer for central defender Reece Oxford, who has been prevented from making an appearance for ten months due to a case of long-term COVID.
Midfielder Niklas Dorsch is currently having to sit out due to persistent groin problems, and attacker Dion Beljo has a muscle injury. Both are out for Saturday’s match.
Augsburg have bolstered their midfield in the winter. Kristijan Jakic arrived on loan from league rivals Eintracht Frankfurt. With his aggressive play style, the 26-year-old secured a regular spot in front of the defence almost straightaway. He should also bring more stability to the defence with the help of Niklas Dorsch.
Although he is still waiting for his first game without conceding a goal, Finn Dahmen has been a reliable presence in the Augsburg goal, having established himself as the starting goalkeeper.
Centre-back Jeffrey Gouweleeuw has become a real pillar of the team again alongside highly-rated Felix Uduokhai, so much so that Augsburg extended the 32-year-old’s stay for another year in January.
Striker Ermedin Demirovic is expected to play a significant role in Augsburg’s attack, as he has scored three goals in his past two games, bringing his season total to ten.
Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Dahmen; Mbabu, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai, Iago; Jensen, Jakic, Dorsch, Rexhbecaj; Tietz, Demirovic
RB Leipzig
Marco Rose has been greeted with positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. Against FC Augsburg on Saturday, Rose will have a full-strength squad of players to choose from this weekend, as Amadou Haidara is back after Mali’s elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations and Mohamed Simakan has served his one-match suspension.
RB Leipzig vice captain Péter Gulácsi was recalled to the starting eleven against Union Berlin after three successive defeats and could continue in place of Janis Blaswich in the goal. The visitors will line up in a 4-2-2-2 formation in front of him.
Defender Willi Orban, another former stalwart recalled, is a favourite to feature once more and should form the central defensive partnership alongside Lukas Klostermann, with Benjamin Henrichs and David Raum being the full-backs. The quartet will be defensive-minded in their approach, with the four attackers having the freedom to create overloads in the final third.
As for the midfield unit, Xavier Schlager and Seiwald will likely form the double pivot. The duo will look to shore up things in the middle of the park while enabling quick transitions.
Xavi Simons and Dani Olmo should play behind the strikers, having the freedom to make ghosting runs. Finally, Lois Openda and Benjamin Sesko will be the two strikers for Leipzig against Augsburg.
Probable Lineup (4-2-2-2): Blaswich; Henrichs, Klostermann, Orban, Raum; Seiwald, Schlager; Dani Olmo, Simons; Sesko, Openda
Key Stats Player to Watch
Ermedin Demirovic
Embed from Getty Images
Ermedin Demirovic has been the captain of FC Augsburg this season. The attacker, who came from SC Freiburg in the summer of 2022 in an exchange deal for Michael Gregoritsch, has now developed into a real goal-scoring phenom. With eleven goals this season, he is currently the fifth-best scorer in the Bundesliga.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina international also has a past at RB Leipzig, having went through the RBL Football Academy between 2014 and 2017, so he will be keen to silence some doubters.
Prediction
FC Augsburg 1-3 RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig got back to winning ways against Union Berlin last time out, though a test at Augsburg looks like a stiffer challenge.
Augsburg are the only Bundesliga team that has not yet kept a clean sheet this season. With a total of 37 goals conceded, the hosts have a porous defence, which should play into Leipzig’s hands. And Marco Rose’s men might run riot at home this weekend. The Hard Tackle thus predicts both teams to get onto the scoresheet, with the hosts clinching a 3-1 win. Tags: FC AugsburgMatch PreviewRB Leipzig