Preview: Augsburg vs. Bayern Munich - prediction, team news, lineups

Bayern have won this competition a record 20 times during their illustrious history, while Augsburg have never reached the final.

Match preview

Indeed, Augsburg's best ever effort in the DFB-Pokal remains reaching the semi-finals during the 2009-10 season, when they were beaten 2-0 by Werder Bremen.

Fuggerstadter were a second tier outfit back then, so it is somewhat surprising that that have not at least matched that run to the final four of Germany's only domestic cup during their 11 years and counting as a Bundesliga club.

Enrico Maaseen may be lamenting the fact that they have drawn Bayern so early in the competition, then, especially with his side more effectively adopting his methods of late, having gained 10 points from their last five league games heading into the encounter.

However, the 38-year-old has already masterminded one victory against their Bavarian rivals at the WWK Arena this season through Mergim Berisha's winner last month, so he will be hoping his side can deliver once again to cause a major upset on Wednesday.

That may prove difficult to replicate given the recent form of Bayern, though, who have scored 20 goals in five matches since returning from the international break.

Julian Nagelsmann's side wrapped up their progression from the Champions League group stages with two games to spare by beating Viktoria Plzen 4-2 in the Czech Republic last week, before leapfrogging Freiburg into second place in the Bundesliga with a 5-0 thrashing of Christian Streich's side at the Allianz Arena on Sunday.

While the DFB-Pokal is undoubtedly a distant third on Nagelsmann's priority list this season, a club the size of Bayern never turns down the opportunity to add more trophies to their cabinet, as is evident by them being 14 DFB-Pokal titles ahead of their nearest competitors in that regard in the form of Werder Bremen.

The 35-year-old will have learned plenty from his side's defeat at nearby Augsburg last month, too, and can therefore better prepare his side to avoid another shock defeat, which in this instance would see them crashing out of a competition.

Augsburg DFB-Pokal form:

W

Augsburg form (all competitions):

L

W

W

W

D

L

Bayern Munich DFB-Pokal form:

W

Bayern Munich form (all competitions):

L

W

W

D

W

W

Team News

Augsburg continue to have a busy treatment room, with Andre Hahn, Rafal Gikiewicz, Felix Uduokhai, Reece Oxford, Niklas Dorsch, Noah Sarenren Bazee and Tobias Strobl all unlikely to feature against Bayern.

As such, Maassen's ability to rotate as much as he may like is hugely compromised, but Mads Pedersen, Julian Baumgartlinger and Daniel Caligiuri should all start having come off the bench during their side's 3-2 defeat to FC Koln at the weekend.

Bayern, meanwhile, may continue to be without the services of their club captain Manuel Neuer, who is unlikely to be risked due to a shoulder injury, for the third successive match.

Likewise, Lucas Hernandez, Thomas Muller and Bouna Sarr were not involved against Freiburg and will almost certainly be kept at home in midweek, but Jamal Musiala featured from the bench despite recently suffering with illness and could be named from the start in Augsburg.

One man who will not be playing is the in-form Leroy Sane, who could face several weeks on the sidelines after sustaining a hamstring injury against Freiburg.

Augsburg possible starting lineup:

Koubek; Framberger, Gumny, Winther, Pedersen; Caligiuri, Baumgartlinger, Gruezo, Vargas; Demirovic, Berisha

Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:

Ulrich; Mazraoui, Pavard, Upamecano, Stanisic; Sabitzer, Gravenberch; Gnabry, Musiala, Tel; Choupo-Moting

We say: Augsburg 1-3 Bayern Munich

Given Augsburg's amount of expected absences through injury, only significant rotation from the visitors may spare them a drubbing.

Bayern's squad depth may not compare to some of Europe's elite teams but it is still enviable to pretty much any team in Germany, and they should have more than enough to advance to the third round regardless of how many changes Nagelsmann makes to his starting XI.

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