Augsburg are dangerously close to the bottom of the table and only a win over Bayer Leverkusen can keep them out of the relegation zone, but the visitors certainly have very different plans for Saturday's match.
Augsburg continue to sink deeper and deeper after each round, most recently losing 3-0 to Hoffenheim. This loss was the fourth in the team's last five games in all competitions, and what's worse is that they don't even score goals in most of their games.
Their goal difference is grim – 12:27, with Augsburg managing to keep a clean sheet only once in 12 rounds so far.
Bayer Leverkusen had a tough week, including two clashes with Borussia Dortmund, in which the teams exchanged one win each.
Die Werkself prevailed in the Cup match, which is an important positive, but lost in the Bundesliga and are now in danger of losing their position in the Top 4 if they do not beat Augsburg.
The big positive is that Bayer Leverkusen score a lot of goals against teams at the bottom of the table and, overall, score an average of 2.3 goals per game in the Bundesliga.
How the bookies view it: Solid value if you back the visitors
The bookmakers definitely do not believe in the hosts' ability to avoid another heavy defeat. The odds are in favor of the visitors, although we see quite a bit of value in the 9/10 offered for Bayer Leverkusen.
If you have more faith in Augsburg, you can back them at 27/10, while the draw is priced at 3/1.
Recent head-to-head: Four in a row for Die Werkself
In recent years, we have seen the same winner in this clash, with Bayer Leverkusen prevailing in the last four matches. In fact, Augsburg have only won twice in 28 matches since the team returned to the Bundesliga and became a permanent fixture in the top flight in 2011.
Both H2Hs last season ended 2-0 for Die Werkself, so even scoring a goal on Saturday would be an improvement for Augsburg.
Players to watch: Grimaldo is there to do it all
Alejandro Grimaldo has consistently been Bayer Leverkusen’s best player this season in terms of overall performance. With other regulars having slow starts, he is also the team’s most impactful player with eight goal contributions in 12 rounds.
He is the main freekick taker, as well as the secondary penalty taker, and averages the most shots per match for Bayer Leverkusen at 1.8. You can always expect him to get involved and create or take chances.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Probable line-ups
Augsburg: Dahmen, Banks, Matsima, Schlotterbeck, Kade, Fellhauer, Massengo, Giannoulis, Rieder, Komur, Essende
Bayer Leverkusen: Flekken, Tapsoba, Andrich, Quansah, Hofmann, Maza, Garcia, Grimaldo, Terrier, Poku, Schick
Anything else catch the eye?
At this point in time, Augsburg do not look like a team that could handle Bayer Leverkusen on a good day. The only reason we imagine the visitors could fail is because they played an additional game midweek.
However, we expect a clean sheet and a straightforward 2-0 for Bayer Leverkusen. For what it’s worth, Augsburg have not conceded many goals at home this season, despite losing most games. And four of the last five H2Hs produced less than three goals too.
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