Preview: Augsburg vs. Hoffenheim - prediction, team news, lineups

Augsburg were held 1-1 away to FC Koln last weekend, while Hoffenheim lost 3-2 at home to league leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

Match preview

Having defeated Heidenheim and Wolfsburg in their previous two matches, Augsburg would have been content enough to depart Cologne with their unbeaten run extended, especially as the hosts could easily have won the match.

Indeed, Koln generated 26 shots and 10 corners across the course of the encounter, with Augsburg goalkeeper Finn Dahmen producing an astonishing tally of 10 saves in a man-of-the-match display. Linton Maina had beaten him in the 16th minute, but Phillip Tietz's leveller nine minutes later proved enough for Jess Thorup's side to escape with a point.

Overall, it has been an encouraging start to life in Bavaria for Thorup, who previously managed FC Copenhagen in his native Denmark, with 12 points from 10 matches seeing Augsburg sit six points clear of the relegation zone ahead of this weekend's action.

His only real disappointment may be their 2-0 defeat to third division side Unterhaching in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, which Augsburg have only ever once reached the semi-final of throughout their entire history.

However, survival is always the main aim of the game for a club of their stature, and the Dane and his players will sense an opportunity to put even further distance between themselves and the bottom three when they host Hoffenheim on Saturday.

That said, Hoffenheim have been in decent form this season, with Pellegrino Matarazzo's side showcasing their progression by pushing Leverkusen hard at Rhein-Neckar-Arena last weekend.

Xabi Alonso's side had led 2-0 at the break courtesy of efforts from Florian Wirtz and Alex Grimaldo, but Anton Stach and Wout Weghorst pulled the hosts level with two quickfire strikes before the hour mark. However, Grimaldo bagged his seventh goal of the season to maintain his side's winning streak and status at the top of the table.

Having fought against relegation for the majority of last season - with Matarazzo brought in as manager in February in order to save Die Kraichgauer - they will be more than content with occupying a Europa League qualification spot after 10 matches. However, with their last six matches reading win, loss, win, loss, win, loss, they are clearly still lacking consistency, which is understandable at a relatively early stage of their development under the former Stuttgart boss.

Depending on results elsewhere, continuing their recent trend by returning to winning ways on Saturday could move Hoffenheim level on points with the Champions League qualification spots, which would have their fanbase dreaming of returning to Europe's elite competition following their maiden appearance in the group stage in the 2018-19 season.

Augsburg Bundesliga form:

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Hoffenheim Bundesliga form:

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Hoffenheim form (all competitions):

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Team News

Augsburg will likely remain without David Colina, Arne Maier, Frederik Winther and Raphael Framberger due to injury, while former West Ham United defender Reece Oxford is still unavailable as he continues to recover from long-COVID.

Robert Gumny was withdrawn against Koln due to a knock and he may be replaced by Kevin Mbabu at right-back, while Felix Uduokhai should return at centre-back after serving a one-match suspension following his dismissal for two bookable offences against Wolfsburg.

Hoffenheim, meanwhile, will travel without Pavel Kaderabek, Florian Grillitsch, Marco John, Stanley Nsoki and Dennis Geiger due to injury, but Andrej Kramaric is available once again after appearing from the bench against Leverkusen.

The Croatia forward is likely to replace Marius Bulter, while John Brooks could return to the visitors' defence in order to provide more experience as they look to reduce the amount of goals that they are conceding.

Augsburg possible starting lineup:

Dahmen; Mbabu, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai, Pedersen; Rexhbecaj, Dorsch; Vargas, Jensen, Demirovic; Tietz

Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:

Baumann; Kabak, Brooks, Vogt; Skov, Becker, Stach, Promel; Kramaric; Weghorst, Beier

We say: Augsburg 1-2 Hoffenheim

Augsburg were extremely fortunate to gain a point away to Koln - who sit bottom of the table ahead of this weekend's action - last time out, but they will not be able to get away with conceding as many chances against Hoffenheim.

The visitors can score goals relatively freely with Kramaric and Weghorst in attack, and we expect them to continue their recent trend by following up a defeat with a victory as they look to gain ground on the Champions League places.

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