FC Augsburg want to make sure they stay in the relegation zone at VfL Bochum. This is the situation at VfL’s opponent on Saturday.
FC Augsburg will be looking to clinch their place in the relegation play-offs this weekend. The prerequisite for the thirteenth-placed team in the table: A win at VfL Bochum on Saturday (3.30 pm). If FC Schalke were to lose at Bayern Munich at the same time, for example, FCA would be saved.
Should Augsburg lose, the gap to the dangerous zone threatens to shrink to three points. Ahead of the game at VfL – Augsburg lost the first leg 1-0 at home – coach Enrico Maassen has a number of personnel problems that need to be compensated for.
Julian Baumgartlinger (meniscus surgery), Iago (individual training), Arne Engels (5th yellow card), Rafał Gikiewicz (shoulder problems), André Hahn (cartilage damage), Reece Oxford (backlog of training) and Tobias Strobl (cruciate ligament tear) are all out.
Several players would be regulars if they were fit. Only the absence of Engels, who came in the winter and made an immediate impact, hurts. But there is also good news for Augsburg.
With Niklas Dorsch and Merim Berisha, two players who can make the difference for FCA are about to make their starting eleven comeback. Maaßen explained at the press conference before the VfL game: “Niklas Dorsch and Mergim Berisha are starting eleven candidates. But Mergim has also been out for five weeks, so we want to wait and see how he feels. Dorschi has also been absent for a long time and has little match practice, but there is an option for both of them to start. “
The stadium is very loud and very narrow
Enrico Maaßen
Whoever the former BVB U23 coach picks, he will give his boys a heads up on what to expect in Bochum. “Bochum has taken points off many clubs. The stadium is very loud and very tight. We have consistently scored three games in a row and worked hard throughout the week. Now we have to show that we are up to the situation.”
He added: “We have to work really hard in this game and if we manage to convert the performance into points, it looks good for us to stay in the league.