Borussia Dortmund vs Augsburg

December 19, 2016
By: Milos Markovic

Thomas Tuchel’s men are in line for yet another test to their resilience as Dortmund returns home after a stretch of three on-the-road games looking to get back to winning ways. Augsburg, on the other hand, will be eager to keep the momentum going after an inspiring win over Monchenglabach at the weekend.

Are Dortmund out of the title race?

It has not been the most satisfying season so far for Borussia Dortmund fans, who have witnessed their team suffering some disappointing results so far. Sitting in fifth place at the Bundesliga standings, well behind the leading duo of Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig, Tuchel’s men face an uphill battle as they look to get back into the title race. With ten points adrift of the league leaders it will be a daunting task. Dortmund will be highly motivated to get back to winning ways after three consecutive defeats as their come-from-behind 2-2 draw at Hoffenheim will have provided the team with a much-needed morale boost. Despite a number of injuries to their key men, Dortmund fought bravely to overcome Roman Weidenfeller’s blunder in the opening stages of the game and to earn a much-needed point. One win in last five matches across all competitions is a record unworthy of the club of Dortmund’s stature and Tuesday’s match will be of great importance for the German greats.

Tuchel’s first-choice goalkeeper Burki is still nurturing the broken hand, whereas Sahin, Sokratis and Piszczek also miss out due to their respective injuries. Castro is suffering from an injury, but there is a possibility that the 29-year-old midfielder could make an appearance this week.

First in five, but can Augsburg make it two on the trot?

Last couple of weeks have been fairly disappointing for Augsburg fans who watched their team win only one of their last ten games in all competitions. A well overdue break came at the weekend with Augsburg recording a home win over Borussia Monchengladbach, their first Bundesliga win in last five matches in the competition. The 1-0 triumph courtesy of Martin Hinteregger’s headed winner 15 minutes from time allowed Manuel Baum to record a win at the start of his temporary charge. The most recent poor spell resulted in the club sacking head coach Schuster and it appears that the shock therapy yielded results for Augsburg. Dirk Schuster’s short spell at the club came to an end after only 14 games in charge, but ‘differing views on the continued sporting orientation’ were stated as the main reasons for sacking the coach, who was reportedly involved in a fight. The pressure is high on interim manager Baum, who will attempt to surprise the more distinguished opponents this week and record what would be only their second win in last ten encounters between two sides.

Augsburg are experiencing plenty of problems in attacking department as strikers Raul Bobadilja, Alfred Finnbogason and Caiuby are all unavailable for the midweek challenge at Dortmund. In addition, Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker is still suffering from a broken fibula and ankle ligament injury which are still preventing him from making a bow this season.

Verdict

Borussia Dortmund are the more quality side of the two, the more motivated as well and a team who, in the end, boast a great record against FC Augsburg. Fuggerstädter are going through some difficult times with their head coach being sacked and it would be close to a miracle to see them coming out on top on Tuesday.

Top Pick: Dortmund/Dortmund   1.91 (10/11) @Coral

Alternative pick 1: Over 3.5 goals   2.38 (11/8) @Unibet

Alternative pick 2: Aubameyang to score anytime   1.55 (11/20) @WilliamHill

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