Away matches are much nicer now

Preview to our clash in Augsburg

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After the disappointing draw with Nürnberg, Werder will be hoping for three points away to FC Augsburg (Photo: nordphoto).
First Team
Thursday, 20.09.2018 / 18:43

Zusammengestellt von WERDER.DE und Opta

SV Werder Bremen have the aim of qualifying for international competitions. It is obvious that only a draw at home to 1. FC Nürnberg isn’t good enough to achieve this aim. There aren’t two ways of looking at this. “We are not satisfied with our early results, but it isn’t a bad start,” said Werder sporting director Frank Baumann. The Green-Whites haven’t lost a match so far this season and have analysed their performance at home against Der Club last Sunday.  “I am pleased with the way the players responded after the Nürnberg game because they were very self-critical. They has dealt with the disappointment without the coach saying anything,” said head coach Florian Kohfeldt. Werder now want to get back on track on Saturday at 15:30 CEST away at FC Augsburg. So far this season, the Green-Whites have enjoyed their trips away from home, celebrating victory in Worms in the DFB-Pokal first round and then in Frankfurt after a late Milo Trashica winner. The club hopes for a repeat in Augsburg on Saturday.

The last meetings between the two sides: On 29th October 2017, Werder fell to a 3-0 home defeat to FC Augsburg in the Weser-Stadion thanks to a Michael Gregoritsch brace and an Alfred Finnbogason strike. The loss against the Bavarians was not only the fifth defeat of the season for Werder, but also the last game in charge for coach Alexander Nouri. He then left the club before Florian Kohfeldt took over and lead Bremen to safety and up the Bundesliga table. FC Augsburg remain the most recent team to defeat the Green-Whites in the Weser-Stadion. In the return fixture in the WWK Arena on matchday 27, Kohfeldt’s side put in a much better performance as a first half brace from Ishak Belfodil set Werder on their way to victory. FCA’s Rani Khedira did pull a goal back for the hosts but it wasn’t enough as Max Kruse’s late strike gave the visitors a 3-1 win.

 

Florian Kohfeldt wants his side to respond to last week's disappointment. (Photo: nordphoto).

The head coach’s thoughts on the match: There are no easy matches in the Bundesliga as Werder found out last Sunday. FC Augsburg are also tough opponents for Werder to face. “Augsburg are an extraordinary Bundesliga team, who play in a completely different style compared with everyone else. They have developed this alternative style of play and can switch between different systems,” said Florian Kohfeldt.  They could become an even tougher team to play against under coach Manuel Baum this season.  “They play very aggressively when they don’t have the ball,” the Werder coach believes. His expects Saturday’s match to be full of tackles. “We have to press against Augsburg and ensure we play in our style of football,” he demands and emphasises exactly the thing that didn’t go to plan in the second half against Nürnberg. Against Augsburg, the coach believes the team must aim to “always have the ball and create chances.”

Squad updates: Florian Kohfeldt needs a bit of time to determine who will play and he will wait until after the team’s next training session. “It is possible that we could have all of our squad available for selection,” explains the coach at his press conference before the trip to Augsburg. Sebastian Langkamp, who missed the Nürnberg game due to a thigh problem, returned to individual training on Wednesday. “Basti will attempt to take part in training today,” Kohfeldt said. “I would be pleased to have him in the squad if that’s possible.”

Previous fixtures between Werder and FCA: FC Augsburg are not the Green-Whites favourite opponents with FCA winning eight of the fourteen meetings between the two sides. There have been two draws with Werder winning four matches. Werder has also conceded the most goals of any Bundesliga side but have managed to score in twelve of the fourteen meetings between the Green-Whites and FCA. There is a good chance of multiple goals being scored on Saturday with an average of 3.3 goals per game between the two teams.

Sebastian Langkamp spent two years at FC Augsburg (Photo: nordphoto).

Former FCA experience: Sebastian Langkamp was known for scoring numerous goals during his time at FCA with four of the defender’s six Bundesliga goals for the Bavarian side coming against Werder Bremen. Langkamp signed for Augsburg from Karlsruhe in 2011, making 37 Bundesliga appearances for the club before signing for Hertha BSC two years later. The defender has been a Werder player since January 2018 and he has never lost to Augsburg in nine previous meetings.

Weaknesses at home vs. strengths on the road: Werder Bremen are undefeated in their last 14 matches at home, something that FC Augsburg can only dream they have. FCA have struggled at home in recent times with the team only winning one of their last seven home matches, including five losses in this time. While FCA start to struggle away from home, Werder are enjoying their away trips as they have won their last three away matches in Mainz, Worms and Frankfurt respectively. The Green-Whites haven’t won four matches in a row since 2006 under coach Thomas Schaaf.

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