Augsburg and Borussia Monchengladbach kick off their 2023-24 Bundesliga campaigns when they clash at the WWK Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts only narrowly managed to avoid relegation last season, with the visitors finishing in 10th place, so both sides will be eager to kick on and challenge further up the table this season.
Match preview
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In what was Enrico Maassen's first season in charge of Augsburg last season, his side struggled for large parts of the campaign, only avoiding having to play a relegation playoff by one point after losing their final three games.
On the final day of the campaign, Fuggerstadter succumbed to a 2-0 defeat away at Borussia M'bach, but they normally perform far better against Saturday's opponents on home soil, winning the last three encounters at the WWK Arena.
After what was ultimately a disappointing Bundesliga campaign, Maassen's side went on to have a mixed pre-season, recording an impressive victory against Eredivisie side Ajax but losing against Salernitana and Napoli in their last two friendlies.
Since then, Augsburg have gone on to play their first match in the DFB-Pokal, but they did not manage to progress to the next round, suffering a shock defeat against 3. Liga side Unterhaching.
Fuggerstadter dominated the possession against the lower-league side, but they only managed to record two shots on target in the entire match, with goals from Mathias Fetsch and Boipelo Mashigo securing a 2-0 victory for the hosts.
Unlike their opponents, Borussia Monchengladbach head into the game fresh off the back of a resounding victory in the DFB-Pokal, recording a 7-0 victory away at Bersenbruck, with both Franck Honorat and Tomas Cvancara scoring braces.
It was the perfect start to the campaign for the Foals, who will be hoping to be back in European contention this season, having finished 10th in the past two seasons.
The last time Borussia M'bach managed to qualify for a European competition was in the 2019-20 season, when they reached the Champions League, and new manager Gerardo Seoane has the credentials to get them back there, having previously led Bayer Leverkusen to a third-placed finish.
One of the main things Seoane will need to improve is his side's dismal record on the road, having taken just 10 points on their travels last season, the third-worst record in the division, and that task starts this weekend versus a side they have a poor recent away record against.
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Team News
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Augsburg defender Raphael Framberger played no part in pre-season due to a knee injury, while midfielder Masaya Okugawa has also been unavailable since joining from Arminia Bielefeld in the summer.
Mads Petersen came on for the second half of the DFB-Pokal match against Unterhaching, but the 26-year-old has sustained an ankle injury, meaning David Colina could be set to keep his place at left-back.
The only other absentee for Maassen's side is defender Robert Gumny, who is serving a suspension after the red card he received on the final day of the 2022-23 campaign.
As for Borussia Monchengladbach, Christoph Kramer is missing due to a knee injury, while Stefan Lainer was recently diagnosed with cancer.
Goalkeeper Jonas Omlin sustained a shoulder injury in the 7-0 thrashing of Bersenbruck, so Moritz Nicolas could come into the starting lineup.
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Dahmen; Engels, Pfeiffer, Winther, Colina; Vargas, Breithaupt, Tietz, Rexhbecaj; Michel, Demirovic
Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Omlin; Scally, Friedrich, Wober, Netz; Weigl, Itakura, Ngoumou, Plea, Honorat; Cvancara
We say: Augsburg 1-1 Borussia Monchengladbach
Augsburg have a solid recent home record against Borussia Monchengladbach, winning the last three matches at the WWK Arena, but the visitors finished much higher in the table last season.
It is the start of a new era for the Foals, who are now under the helm of Seoane, so we expect them to be good enough to take at least a point this Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Dominic Lund
