FC Augsburg

“We have an exciting challenge ahead of us, but we’ve shown not only against Dortmund that we can do well against the top sides,” said Maaßen ahead of the game. The 38-year-old sees Gladbach, who lost 3-2 to Leverkusen last time out, as a “very good side with a lot of good individual players and the ability to interchange positions.” The plan is clear for Maaßen and his team. “We want to keep the points in Augsburg.”

Enrico Maaßen made one change to the team that lost 4-3 at Dortmund on Sunday. Mergim Berisha replaced the injured Ruben Vargas up front to partner new signing Dion Beljo. Ermedin Demirović started on the left wing.

Jeffrey Gouweleeuw: “The first half was even, but we were by far the better team after the break. We finally got what we deserved. This win is really important as it will give us more belief and confidence. The new signings have brought in some fresh energy and impetus, and that’s really helping us.”

The head coach discussed the first 17 games in Friday’s presser: “It’s a lot of fun working with the team here. We have shown good performances, especially against big teams, but we’ve had to deal with suspensions and bad luck with injuries,” explained Maaßen. FCA managed to finish their first half of the season on a positive note with a 1-0 home win over Borussia Mönchengladbach on Wednesday evening and the boss believes his side fully deserved the three points: “It was simply a nice feeling that we were rewarded for our performance. We did lots of things right. However, we can’t celebrate for too long because we have to go again. We’ll be taking the momentum from the game with us and we’re looking to go one better.”

FCA head coach Enrico Maaßen named the same XI who beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-0 in midweek. It was their first time playing at the Europa-Park Stadion after the home side made the move from the old Dreisamstadion at the beginning of last season.

Ermedin Demirović: “It’s a painful defeat. We played well as a team over the 90 minutes. We asked our opponents a lot of tough questions and more than held our own, but we were just lacking that little bit of luck that you need. It was a good performance that we can build on.”

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Lukas Petkov, who has been with the Fuggerstädter since the age of eight, has made eight competitive appearances for Augsburg so far this season. He has also built on the impressive form he showed last term during his loan spell at third division side SC Verl, when he scored eleven goals and picked up five assists in 37 appearances.

FCA have also agreed a buy option for the 19-year-old, who came through the Sporting academy and can play in both defensive midfield and at centre-back. The 1.90-metre-tall left-footer has played the full 90 minutes in five of his side’s six UEFA Youth League matches this season.

“I want to be on the pitch and I wasn’t able to do that as much as I would have liked in the first half of the season. Going back home is the right move for me, so that I can get as many minutes as possible at Brøndby,” explained the 22-year-old.