FC Augsburg

Ermedin Demirović: “It’s a painful loss. I’m really disappointed. We lacked the energy that usually gives us an edge today. We didn’t win enough challenges and struggled to create chances. It was a bit like we had a mental block today. It was clear that Werder wanted it more than us, which should never be the case. We’ve got three games left now and we’re aiming to bring our quality to the table again in all of them.”

Jeffrey Gouweleeuw: “We played really badly today. The first half wasn’t pretty. The disallowed Werder goal should’ve been a warning for us, but we were just as bad in the second half. After a performance like that, we don’t deserve any points. We don’t need to talk about the fact that we’ve passed up a massive opportunity today. The important thing now is that we learn from our mistakes and put in a completely different performance against Dortmund next week.”

Jess Thorup (FC Augsburg coach): “I’m really disappointed with this performance. I certainly didn’t see it coming. We definitely had hoped to play better than this on the back of our good home form. A game like this is therefore tough for me to take. We weren’t good enough both with and without the ball. We struggled to get things right at both ends of the pitch and didn’t play with any energy. I’ll have to watch the game back, but I’m struggling right now to find any positives. After these two defeats our aim is to get back on track across the final three matchdays. We will need to get back to the training ground and work hard to be able to do that.”

Ole Werner (SV Werder Bremen coach): “It was a great away performance and we left nothing to be desired as a team. We defended well and played really good football, even if we didn’t manage to create clear chances in the first half. Scoring from the set piece was important after the break, that broke the deadlock and allowed us to score more goals. We then had more space and took advantage of that. We can be really pleased with our performance today.”

Head coach Jess Thorup stuck with the same side that lost 3-1 in Frankfurt last weekend. Left-back Iago didn’t make the squad, as the Brazilian is still struggling with a foot injury.

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.