FC Augsburg

FCA’s clash on matchday 31 will certainly be a special one, with the game also functioning as a celebration of the club’s success in the 1973/74 Regionalliga 50 years ago. Starting from 11:00 CEST, fans will be able to take part in a range of events outside the stadium, before heading indoors to cheer on the boys. Head coach Jess Thorup is looking forward to experiencing the “special atmosphere” present on the day, and his hopeful that his side will be able to bounce back from last week’s 3-1 defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt.

“We have to be ready to give it our all – it’s vital that we show a reaction,” explained the 54-year-old ahead of Saturday’s clash. Thorup is also yet to forget his team’s meeting with Werder in the first round of matches, which saw FCA deliver a disappointing performance and fall to a 2-0 defeat as a result. Augsburg have picked up an impressive 21 points in the second half of the season so far, which they’re hoping to build on in the remaining fixtures. “We’re happy to have avoided relegation, but we now have to continue moving forward.”

In contrast to last week’s 2-0 home victory over 1. FC Union Berlin, FCA head coach Jess Thorup was able to call upon Kristjan Jakić and Kevin Mbabu, who had both been injured recently. After overcoming a foot injury, Niklas Dorsch was also ready to return to the squad.

Mads Pedersen: “We did well defensively in the first half and only allowed them the odd chance. We failed to continue in this fashion after the break. Of course we’re disappointed, but we need to focus on the next game. We want to show a different side to us next weekend and have a good chance of picking up more points in our final four games.”

The shirt’s design is completely white and has a red and green stripe on the left-hand side, re-imagining the FCA kit from the 1970s. The logos of main sponsor WWK Versicherungen on the chest and Siegmund on the sleeve will be in a tonal white to keep the look of the shirt as close to the original design as possible.

“The team is feeling confident. We’ve got the wind in our sails – it’s a good feeling,” said FCA head coach Jess Thorup. His side are currently seventh in the Bundesliga standings with five games to go this season. They sit just three points behind Friday’s opponents, who lost 3-0 against VfB Stuttgart last weekend. The reverse fixture at the WWK ARENA was a 2-1 victory for FCA in sub-zero temperatures.

Throup described Frankfurt as “a top side with a lot of individual quality”, but the Dane was keen to stress that FCA are focusing on their own game. “We want to win in order to guarantee our survival. We can take matters into our own hands by winning against Frankfurt,” explained the 54-year-old.

As was the case last week, FCA head coach Jess Thorup had to do without the injured Kevin Mbabu, Fredrik Jensen and Iago for this home fixture against the capital-city side. This game also came too early for Kristijan Jakić, who came off with an injury after just twelve minutes against Hoffenheim last time out. As a result, Daniel Hausmann and David Deger of the U23s were named in the first-team squad for the first time, and Tim Breithaupt returned to the starting XI.

Phillip Tietz: “It’s a great feeling when the final whistle goes and you’ve won. It wasn’t the best game of football, especially in the first half, but we knew that we needed to keep our focus and fight our way into the game. A goal from out of nothing then gave us a helping hand, because it meant Union had to open up, and that saw us get a few more chances on goal. You saw today just how much fun we’re having as a group, the team spirit is immense and something special is developing here.”

Arne, FC Augsburg’s five-game unbeaten streak was broken on Sunday after the team lost to TSG Hoffenheim.
I’m still feeling frustrated with the defeat, just like the rest of the team, because it could have been avoided. We defended too passively and conceded two goals as a result. When we changed the formation, we settled into the game, but still had to come back from behind. We had enough opportunities to turn the game around. Looking back, just like when we played Köln, we were missing that little bit of luck in the final third, for instance when I hit the post.

“We want to be able to start planning for the upcoming season as early as possible, and to give everyone involved the time needed to do so. We had agreed to bring Marco Kostmann on board for a single season, and will therefore now look for his successor,” announced FCA sporting director Marinko Jurendic. “We would like to thank Marco for his efforts and the excellent work he’s put in with our goalkeepers, and wish him all the best for a successful end to the season.” 

“From the beginning, the length of our cooperation was set at one season. We sat down together for open and honest discussions over the past weeks and decided to see out the contract as planned, so that our cooperation would end in the summer. Until then, I will naturally continue to give everything in order to help our goalkeepers further their development,” said Kostmann. 

“Union have played well in their past few games. They’ve picked up a lot of points while looking very solid at the back,” said Thorup in praise of his side’s next opponents, whose safety from the drop is not quite guaranteed yet. Nenad Bjelica’s side were defeated 1-0 by Bayer Leverkusen last week, while Augsburg’s five-game unbeaten streak came to an end at the hands of TSG Hoffenheim.

It will be the first time that FCA have played a Friday night game this season. Thorup explained that he’s expecting “a hard-fought affair”, but the 54-year-old is also looking forward to “another opportunity to pick up some points.” FCA currently sit seventh in the table on 36 points, while Union occupy 13th place.