Preview: Augsburg vs. Mainz 05 - prediction, team news, lineups

Both teams occupy top-half positions after two matches, with the visitors remaining unbeaten so far.

Match preview

Having never beaten Bayer Leverkusen in 22 Bundesliga matches, few would have given Augsburg much chance of avoiding defeat last weekend, yet alone claiming a surprise away victory.

Yet that is exactly what they did, with Enrico Maaßen's side showing tremendous character to bounce back from their crushing 4-0 defeat at home to Freiburg on matchday one.

Brilliant interplay down the left-flank saw Iago's well-drilled cutback find Ermedin Demirovic, whose deft touch played through Fredrik Jensen, who displayed excellent composure to score only his second league goal for the club.

Charles Aranguiz equalised for the hosts by lashing the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the area moments before half time, with Rafal Gikiewicz superbly preventing Augsburg from falling behind after the break by leaping at full reach to tip Moussa Diaby's deflected effort over the bar.

The Polish stopper made nine saves across the 90 minutes, including a point-blank one to deny Patrik Schick in injury-time after substitute Andre Hahn had made an instant impact off the bench on his 32nd birthday by smashing the ball in off the post to claim a precious three points for his side.

Maaßen will demand that his players prove that their shock win in Leverkusen was no fluke by taking the game to Mainz on Saturday.

Having recorded the third-best home record in the Bundesliga last season, Mainz fans would have been hopeful of recording back-to-back victories when they took on Union Berlin following a 2-1 win at VfL Bochum on matchday one.

However, alongside Borussia Dortmund, Union Berlin were the only team to win at the MEWA Arena last season. As such, Bo Svensson's side played with more caution than usual, with both teams determined not to be caught in transition.

Extremely hot conditions did not exactly help to make a great spectacle either, with substitute Marlon Mustapha's weaving run the closest that Die Nullfunfer came to breaking the deadlock, but the 21-year-old lost balance at the wrong moment and consequently scuffed his finish wide of the mark.

While Mainz fans may have left their stadium disappointed regarding the lack of entertainment on offer, ultimately their side's 0-0 draw was one point better than they managed against their opponents last season.

They were defeated 2-1 at Augsburg last season, of course, so there is another chance for Svensson's side to demonstrate their improvement as well as remain unbeaten at this early stage in the season.

Augsburg Bundesliga form:

Augsburg form (all competitions):

Mainz 05 Bundesliga form:

Mainz 05 form (all competitions):

Team News

Augsburg have been left sweating on the fitness of Iago, after the wing-back suffered a muscle strain against Leverkusen and was forced to be subbed in the 65th minute.

The 25-year-old may have to sit out this match as a precaution, with Daniel Caligiuri likely to replace him in a switch which would see Mads Pedersen move to his natural left flank, with the side otherwise likely to be unchanged by Maaßen after such an impressive result on the road last time out.

Reece Oxford (knee), Niklas Dorsch (foot), Lukas Petkov (muscle), Tobias Strobl and Noah Sarenren Bazee (both ACL) will all miss out once again, but Ruben Vargas could be among the substitutes depending on the assessment of his recent muscle injury, with Hahn also potentially waiting for his moment to strike again.

Mainz, meanwhile, will travel without Danny da Costa due to a pubic bone issue, with Jonathan Burkardt set to be evaluated after his recent muscle strain.

Either way, the 22-year-old would almost certainly not be risked from the start by Svesson, who may look towards new signing Angelo Fulgini to fill the creative void in place of Lee Jae-sung, who was clearly not at his best in the dour draw with Union Berlin last time out.

Augsburg possible starting lineup:

Gikiewicz; Gumny, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai; Caligiuri, Maier, Gruezo, Rexhbecaj, Pedersen; Demirovic, Jensen

Mainz 05 possible starting lineup:

Zentner; Bell, Hack, Leitsch; Widmer, Stach, Kohr, Aaron; Fulgini; Oniwiso, Ingvartsen

We say: Augsburg 1-1 Mainz 05

With both teams adopting similar formations, we can envisage a low-scoring, tight encounter in Augsburg on Saturday.

The visitors were involved in a goalless draw last time out and may be content to remain unbeaten, with Augsburg unlikely to push too hard for a winner either.

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