Augsburg, Leverkusen for Europe
February 20, 2015
Surprise package Augsburg are showing there is more than one top Bundesliga team in Bavaria. In what has been a dream campaign so far, the club with the second-lowest budget at the start of the season are perched fifth in the table, and remain in contention for a first foray into European competition next term.
Their opponents on Saturday, Bayer Leverkusen, were tipped in pre-season as possible challengers to Bayern Munich but Roger Schmidt's side has had a forgettable start to 2015, winning just one of their four games so far. They now lie sixth going into Matchday 22 and are in need of three points to stay in the hunt for Europe.
Inconsistency has been the biggest issue for Leverkusen. After the 5-1 defeat of local rivals Cologne in November they did not score more than once in a match until putting four past Wolfsburg on Matchday 21, and even then they lost by conceding five at the other end. Star forward Stefan Kiessling, meanwhile, has registered just one more goal than back-up striker Josip Drmic, despite playing over 1,000 minutes more.
Augsburg, though, continue to over-achieve. The smart signing of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg on loan from neighbors Bayern in January brought more attention to their cause and the Danish youngster shone in the club's wins against Hoffenheim and Dortmund. Augsburg will want to iron out a slight blip in results since then, following a home draw with Frankfurt and a loss in Bremen, and could go third with a win over Leverkusen if other results go their way on Matchday 22.
Despite the fact that European competition is beckoning, Augsburg commercial manager Stefan Reuter told DW that the club's short-term aims are more modest.
"Our goal is to make Augsburg a stable Bundesliga team,” he said. Let's see if the club still thinks that way if they manage to beat Leverkusen.
Tests for Schalke and Gladbach
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga on Matchday 22, Schalke and Gladbach both face difficult tasks in maintaining their form at the top. The Royal Blues host the re-born Werder Bremen, having lost to Real Madrid 0-2 on Wednesday.
Gladbach travel back from Spain after a 1-0 loss to Sevilla, before heading north to Hamburg on Sunday as they look to close the gap on Wolfsburg. The Wolves, who were also in Europa League action on Thursday, host Berlin who are struggling. The team even made headlines in Germany after a scuffle between two of their players, Thomas Kraft and Ronny, on Thursday.
Bayern Munich travel to Paderborn for the first time in a league fixture, whilst Freiburg host the out-of-form Hoffenheim. New Mainz boss Martin Schmidt, who jumped up from the U23s to replace the sacked Kasper Hjulmand this week, takes charge of his first game by hosting Eintracht Frankfurt.
Finally, the spotlight may be more on Cologne's fans than the team as the Billy Goats welcome Hannover, in the first game since a group of their supporters fans stormed the pitch after the carnival derby loss at Gladbach.