#FCAB04 – 04 facts ahead of night match at Augsburg

In the red, green and white corner: The modest FC Augsburg, 14th in the table, who have escaped the relegation battle with a surprising double whammy. In the black and red corner: The ambitious Werkself in the run-in to qualify for Europe again as the team placed seventh in the league. That is a rough description of the situation ahead of the penultimate away game of the season. Time for a closer look with 04 facts on #FCAB04…

Augsburg, oh yes!

FC Augsburg certainly hit the headlines with two wins on the bounce – 3-1 against Europa League semi-finalists Eintracht Frankfurt and a 6-0 victory over VfB Stuttgart, a direct rival in the relegation battle. Those results even caused surprise in the Rhineland. But also equally as much respect given the FCA campaign so far. However, the Werkself have nothing to fear at Augsburg. The Bosz boys also go into the game on the back of two wins. On top of that, the records speak clearly in favour of the Black and Reds. Up to now clashes with FC Augsburg have certainly been a safe bet – at least in terms of not losing. Of the previous 15 meetings with FCA, Bayer Leverkusen have always succeeded in taking at least one point. Nine wins and six draws (30 goals for and 14 against) is the spotless Werkself record of past games. This is the fixture between teams meeting as often in the Bundesliga where one side as yet to win. Augsburg, oh yes! And hopefully it can stay that way!

Schmidt's the man

With a change of coaches it is often said a new broom sweeps clean. And it appears there has been a lot of broom advertising as the gardens season starts in Augsburg. With the Schmidt version following on from the long-term Baum broom. Firstly at Mörfelder Landstraße 362 in Frankfurt am Main and last weekend on home turf at Bürgermeister-Ulrich-Straße 90 the opposing teams were swept away. Augsburg secured the biggest Bundesliga win in the club's history in front of their own fans. Under new coach Martin Schmidt, Augsburg have scored more goals (nine) in the last two games than the previous eight under former coach Manuel Baum (eight). Not bad! On top of that: Martin Schmidt is the first Augsburg coach to win his first two games in the Bundesliga. That brings hope in Bavaria's third biggest city that three games can be won in succession for the first time since September 2017. But that view is not shared by the Werkself.

strength at home

Augsburg is not only known for its football club founded in 1904. If you think of famous things about the city of Augsburg as an outsider then the first thing to come to mind may be the 'Puppenkiste' puppet museum. One or two smart people might know about the Fuggers – one of the most powerful and richest merchant families in history. Recently strength at home has applied more to the third-biggest city in Bavaria. And justifiably so. FCA have won three of the last four home games with the other ending in a 4-0 defeat against Hoffenheim. Ignoring that game, red, green and white fans at the WWK Arena have seen their team score at least one goal in all of the past eleven home fixtures (23 goals in total). By comparison: 23 goals is only one less than FC Nürnberg have netted in the whole season to date. Moreover: FCA have not failed to score in any of their seven league games at home to Bayer 04. The Werkself have only won one of the last three games at Augsburg. Black and Reds beware! But Bayer 04 have already shown what they are capable of on the road. And this season there haven't been any defeats against teams from the bottom half of the table.

Alar1-0

In last Saturday’s 2-0 home win against FC Nürnberg, Lucas Alario opened the scoring for the Black and Reds – and it was goal number 04 of the season for the 26-year-old who was scored three goals coming on as a substitute. The first headed goal in Germany's top flight was the 13th Bundesliga goal (in 46 games) for the Werkself number 13. The Argentinian has scored the important first goal six times – including in the previous meeting with Augsburg this term. And the goalscoring record of the striker is worth looking at from another perspective: In the eleven games where 'El Pipa' has found the back of the net, the Werkself have have secured ten wins and one draw. Sigue asi por favor! In English: Carry on like that please!

Match information:
Previous meeting: 1-0 (H)
Venue: WWK Arena (30,660 capacity)
Referee: Frank Willenborg (Osnabrück)
Weather forecast: 8 degrees, overcast
Live TV broadcast: Eurosport Player