Augsburg rewrote their club history last week after recording an 11th consecutive game without a loss in the Bundesliga. What chances do they have to continue their streak against title contenders Bayern Munich?
Defensive football has been out of fashion for a long time, but Augsburg are proof that good tactical preparation and solid defending can be enough for serious achievements. Despite their negative goal difference and only 30 goals scored so far, Augsburg are only three points shy from 6th place. Fuggerstadter haven't lost in nearly three months in the league, last losing to Stuttgart in mid-January.
Bayern Munich continue to inch closer to the title in small steps, with their last few Bundesliga games not nearly as easy as they were supposed to be. A loss to Bochum, followed by a draw with Union Berlin, and finally a 3-2 win over St. Pauli. The Bavarians definitely don't look ideal defensively right now and it will be interesting to see if Augsburg can fight back for at least one goal, especially after the first game between the two teams this season.
How the bookies view it: Completely obvious odds
The odds advantage for the Bavarians is significant, as it has been in almost every Bundesliga match this season. But still, the bookies have decided to give Augsburg at least a little of their faith, and you can back them at 6/1. The draw is priced at 7/2, and Bayern Munich are available at 1/2.
Recent head to head: Five in a row for the Bavarians
The last few clashes between Augsburg and Bayern Munich have been spectacular. The last five featured a total of 27 goals, and of course, the Bavarians scored most, winning each of the five. All in all, Augsburg have just two wins against Bayern in the last 10 H2Hs.
It's important to note the reverse fixture from this season – arguably one of the Bavarians' strongest performances to date. The match ended at 3-0, but Bayern could have quite easily scored five or more goals. They had 80% possession and 33 shots, including 14 on target, and 3.77 xG. Augsburg spent 90 minutes in defense and attempted only two shots.
Players to watch: What is Kane cooking?
We try to stay away from Harry Kane because of the low odds, but the Englishman has simply dominated in the matches against Augsburg since he joined Bayern. This will be his fourth time against Fuggerstadter, and he scored a total of six goals in the previous three. He also scored a hat-trick in the reverse fixture this season. However, if you prefer a player with higher odds, you could go for Leroy Sane, who is in outstanding form at the moment and has scored three of the Bavarians' last four goals.
Probable line-ups
Augsburg: Dahmen, Zesiger, Gouweleeuw, Matsima, Giannoulis, Onyeka, Jakic, Wolf, Jensen, Claude-Maurice, Essende
Bayern Munich: Urbig, Stanisic, Dier, Kim, Guerreiro, Kimmich, Goretzka, Olise, Muller, Sane, Kane
Anything else catch the eye?
Augsburg's games rarely feature any goals and that makes picking over 2.5 goals a lot harder. Only two of their last 10 games have covered the three goal minimum. Three of them even ended at 0-0. But looking at the recent clashes with Bayern Munich, it's pretty hard to bet on the opposite. The last five H2Hs have averaged 5.4 goals, with the Bavarians scoring a total of 19.
Augsburg will defend as hard as they can to the last, as usual, but that gameplan didn't work in the reverse fixture and Bayern still won 3-0. Harry Kane is certainly looking forward to this game and will be in top condition after a full week off to punish Fuggerstadter again.
This German Bundesliga match between Augsburg and Bayern Munich will be played on and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Augsburg vs Bayern Munich prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
GambleAware