Both sides targeting first win

Augsburg and Bochum will both have aspirations of claiming maximum points for the first time this season when they face off at the WWK Arena on Saturday.

Augsburg

Augsburg have experienced a sluggish start to the season after drawing one and losing two of their opening three competitive games. The Fuggerstädter began the campaign with a surprise 2-0 defeat to Unterhaching in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, before playing out a 4-4 draw in their league opener against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

The Fuggerstädter were unable to take anything from last weekend’s away meeting with champions Bayern Munich. A Felix Uduokhai own goal and a Harry Kane brace helped Bayern establish a three-goal lead, before Dion Beljo netted a late consolation for Enrico Maaßen’s side.

Including last season, Augsburg have now failed to win any of their last five Bundesliga games (D1, L4), conceding 15 goals in that period. They have also kept just one clean sheet in 15 league matches, highlighting a key area for improvement.

Augsburg will at least be confident of finding the net themselves after scoring in nine of their last 10 home matches in the top flight.

Team News

Raphael Framberger, Nathanael Mbuku, Masaya Okugawa and Reece Oxford are all set to miss out, while summer signing Patric Pfeiffer is suspended. The hosts also have doubts over the availability of Jeffrey Gouweleeuw and Sven Michel.

Bochum

Like their opponents, Bochum are also desperate to claim their first win of the season, but they would have taken confidence from last weekend’s performance against Borussia Dortmund. After being thrashed 5-0 by Stuttgart in their Bundesliga opener, Bochum may have entered their first home game of the season with a sense of trepidation.

However, they quickly received a confident boost when Kevin Stöger gave his side the lead in the 13th minute. Bochum were unable to double their advantage, before Donyell Malen equalised in the second period to ensure the spoils were shared.

Bochum were perhaps unfortunate to miss out on all three points, but their battling display will give Thomas Letsch cause for optimism ahead of Saturday’s trip to Bavaria. Die Unabsteigbaren will also draw inspiration from the fact they have won their last two meetings with Augsburg.

Team News

Bochum are unable to call upon the services of Michael Esser, Luis Hartwig, Moritz Kwarteng, Lys Mousset and Mohammed Tolba. There are also question marks surrounding the fitness of Tim Oermann.

Related stories