Thorup: “We need to show what we’re capable of”
Final home game of the season
FC Augsburg’s final home game of the season is on Friday night (20:30 CEST) against VfB Stuttgart on matchday 33.
FCA head coach Jess Thorup stated after the loss at Signal Iduna Park last weekend that he saw some positives during the game, even after losing 5-1. Training this week focused on defending after conceding those five goals. Even with a few positives, the 54-year-old was still disappointed that his team “didn’t play well over the course of the 90 minutes.”
Thorup wants his team to be fully focused throughout the whole of Friday night’s game. The visitors from Stuttgart, currently third in the table, will travel to the Fuggerstadt full of confidence on the back of their 3-1 win over FC Bayern last time out. “Stuttgart have had a great season,” praised Thorup. “We’ll need to perform well and show what we’re capable of if we want to be successful.”
The home crowd could prove pivotal as well on Friday evening. FCA have had success against the league’s top sides in front of a sold-out stadium this season, drawing with Leipzig (2-2), Dortmund and Leverkusen (both 1-1), though they are yet to beat any of them. “We want to change that on Friday night,” said the Dane.
Dahmen’s operation successful, Iago and Dorsch available
Finn Dahmen has undergone a successful operation for his ligament injury and is therefore unavailable. Just like in Dortmund, “Tomáš Koubek will replace him in goal,” confirmed Thorup. Kristijan Jakić will return from his yellow-card suspension and Niklas Dorsch “is ready for more minutes” after three short cameos. Iago is also close to returning after four weeks on the sidelines. Thorup will decide tomorrow if the 27-year-old is ready to make the squad against Stuttgart or not.
“It’s our last home game, I know what that means,” said Thorup on the importance of the game. The aim is “to reward the fans with a good performance and to go into the summer break on a high.”
