Augsburg vs VfB Stuttgart Preview: Stuttgart cruising to top four, Augsburg's slump for Europe

Match Overview

Augsburg

Augsburg have slumped in terms of form (like many sides in the hunt for the seventh spot in the Bundesliga) and now look an outside shot of getting Conference League football with both Hoffenheim and Freiburg above them.

As it currently stands, both 6th and 7th place would be Europa League football and the 8th spot would be Conference League. However, a Champions League final win for Dortmund would mean that the 9th place (currently occupied by Augsburg) would become a European place.

For Augsburg, their star man has been Ermedin Demirović who has netted fifteen goals in the Bundesliga this season. Despite this, he is not only useful for his build-up play as his assist tally of nine alongside his scoring rate does not fail to impress.

The Fuggerstädter, in spite of this, have a miserable slice of form as of recent as they have lost in each of their last three games in the Bundesliga.

Ahead of the tie with the high-flying Swabians, Augsburg's head coach Jess Thorup said: "We need to show off what we are capable of. Last week, we didn’t play well over the course of the 90 minutes."

VfB Stuttgart

Last week's win against Bayern Munich was a landmark victory for VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, as they are one win off equalling their Bundesliga record points tally this season under Sebastian Hoeneß.

Despite Bayern resting plenty of players for their midweek tie with Real Madrid, Stuttgart were able to control the game and create lots of chances. The late goal from Silas was the cherry on the cake for a brilliant game.

After announcing earlier this season that he would stay with Stuttgart, Hoeneß was able to celebrate this and much more as he jumped into the stands at the MHP Arena following last weekend's victory.

Finally, Stuttgart have a chance to move into second place in the Bundesliga ahead of Bayern's weekend match with VfL Wolfsburg. This would mark an unexpected change in this season's Vizemeister.

Team News

Augsburg

Finn Dahmen is out with an ankle injury for Thorup's side. Both Robert Gumny and Raphael Framberger will also be unavailable on Friday.

Elvis Rexhbecaj is missing with an ankle issue and Reece Oxford joins him on the sidelines due to illness. Lastly, Fredrik Jensen is missing due to a calf injury and Iago is a doubt with a foot issue.

VfB Stuttgart

Roberto Massimo is out with a muscular injury and Josha Vagnoman has a foot injury that sees him sidelined. Axel Zagadou is out for the rest of the campaign and Lilian Egloff and Nicolas Nartey will be unavailable on Friday.

Predicted Lineups

Augsburg:

Koubek; Mbabu, Gouweleeuw, Uduokhai, Pedersen; Engels, Jakić, Maier; Vargas; Tietz , Demirović (c)

VfB Stuttgart:

Nübel; Stergiou, Anton (c), Ito, Mittelstädt; Millot, Karazor, Stiller, Führich; Undav, Guirassy