Our next opponents: Augsburg

POSITION

As in almost all of the last six years, many experts again predicted FC Augsburg would be among the relegation candidates from the start of the season – particularly after the defeat in the first round of the DFB Cup away to third division Magdeburg. However, the club from southern Germany has again confounded those pundits who have doubted their ability to survive in the Bundesliga. They are now unbeaten in five games and with the courageous and refreshing performances of the team under coach Manuel Baum, are now in the top third of the table with successes including a 1-0 home win against RB Leipzig. The last matchday saw FCA secure a deserved 3-0 victory at Werder Bremen thanks to a double strike from Michael Gregoritsch (pictured) and a goal from Alfred Finnbogason.

Personnel

Sometimes five at the back, sometimes two up front, sometimes a flat four in midfield or a classic 4-2-3-1: The former sports teacher Manuel Baum adopts a variety of tactics for his team. However, there is a constant balance between well-organised defence and studied moves in attack. The indispensable link between these two elements is the captain Daniel Baier, who could almost be called Mr Augsburg. The 33-year-old has been the playmaker in midfield for the past seven years and he was in the Augsburg side that played their first ever Bundesliga match in August 2011 – one of only two players left in the current squad from that fixture. The other one is familiar to many people in Leverkusen. Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker. The defender played for various youth teams at Bayer 04 and made 58 competitive appearances for the Werkself. After a serious ankle injury and 18 months on the sidelines, this 33-year-old is currently playing for the Regional League team. As Martin Hinteregger, another experienced central defender, is ruled out for the rest of the first half of the season, Baum is currently relying on the Dutchman Jeffrey Gouweleeuw and the 19-year-old homegrown talent Kevin Danso in the centre of defence. FCA have many more options in attack: Quick wingers like Caiuby and Marcel Heller plus technically impressive players like Ja-Cheol Koo and Jan Morávek enable Augsburg to vary their attacking game. The real gem up front is central striker Alfred Finnbogason, who not only recently qualified for the World Cup finals with Iceland but is also FCA's top scorer this term with five goals.

Problems

Until his strike at Werder Bremen, also goal number 250 in the Bundesliga for FC Augsburg, Finnbogason had not scored since matchday three. One fifth of the 15 goals scored by the team this season have been netted by the Icelander. The reliance of FC on the services of their striker was evident last season when the 28-year-old was out injured for a long time with Augsburg being mired in a relegation battle during that period. There has often been a lack of experience in defence this term following the departure of stalwart Paul Verhaegh and the absence of Hinteregger and Callsen-Bracker. The youngsters Danso and Philipp Max are highly talented but are sometimes prone to minor errors in the positional play.

Potential

Thanks to careful management of finances and a policy of taking small steps, FCA have become established in the Bundesliga over recent years. In 2015, the then coach Markus Weinzierl took them to fifth place and qualification for the Europa league – the biggest success in the club's history. At the moment it seems unlikely they will be able to reproduce that achievement because, in part, Augsburg's general manager Stefan Reuter is forced every year to sell key players like André Hahn (to Borussia Mönchengladbach), Abdul Rahman Baba (to Chelsea) and Dominik Kohr who joined Bayer 04 in the summer. Nevertheless, Reuter has created the infrastructure for the club to become an established member of the Bundesliga in the long term. So it is possible that there may be a return to the European stage at some point.

Prediction

From the start of the campaign, the Bavarian Swabians are prepared for another relegation battle this season. A strategy that has consistently paid off for FCA in recent campaigns and which represents an advantage over many other clubs. If Baum's team continue to play the way they have since late summer for the rest of the season then there is nothing to say that Augsburg will not go into their eighth successive Bundesliga season in July 2018.