It is a key battle near the bottom of the Bundesliga standings as Augsburg host VfB Stuttgart in a Friday night fixture. Stuttgart are in full survival mode at the moment and have been particularly impressive on their recent travels.
Things have been rough for Augsburg in recent weeks as they are winless in their last five Bundesliga matches. They are slowly getting dragged into the relegation scrap and are now just five points above the bottom three.
Augsburg head into Thursday’s clash off the back of a 3-2 defeat at RB Leipzig in their previous Bundesliga fixture. They took an early lead through Arne Maier but went on to concede three goals before Ruben Vargas pulled one back late on.
That was the second straight defeat for Augsburg who also suffered a 3-1 defeat to Cologne in their previous home fixture. The major problem for Enrico Maaßen’s men is a lack of solidity at the back having failed to keep clean sheets in their last seven matches, conceding 17 goals in that run.
VfB Stuttgart are still in the bottom three but appear to have gone into full survival mode in recent weeks. Sebastian Hoeneß’s men have lost just once in their last five Bundesliga matches, claiming three wins in that run.
Die Schwaben are coming off a thrilling 3-3 draw with Borussia Dortmund last time out in the Bundesliga. They were constantly plagued by defensive errors but showed great character to come from behind to earn that point despite playing much of the game with 10 men.
One surprising thing about Stuttgart’s recent good form is that they have done some of their best work on their travels. They have won their last two away matches, claiming a 3-2 victory at Bochum in their previous fixture on the road.
How the bookies view it
Stuttgart have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 5/4 by Betfred to claim the win. Augsburg are considered outsiders at home at 11/5 by bet365 while BoyleSports is offering odds of 11/4 for a draw.
Head to head
Augsburg and Stuttgart have claimed nine wins each with one draw from 19 previous matches. However, Stuttgart have won five of the last six meetings and claimed a 2-1 victory in the reverse fixture back in October.
Players to watch
Augsburg are set to welcome back Ermedin Demirovic, who has been on a three-match suspension. The forward has seven Bundesliga goals this season and is priced at 16/5 by William Hill to find the net on Friday.
Serhou Guirassy failed to find the net last time out against Borussia Dortmund but remains the leading scorer for Stuttgart with seven goals. The striker has found the net twice in his last four away matches and is priced at 12/5 by bet365 to get on the score sheet on Friday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Augsburg have seen over 3.5 goals in four of their last five Bundesliga matches and a similar outcome is priced at 11/5 by BetVictor. The last six meetings between both teams have produced over 2.5 goals, which is priced at 5/6 by 10bet.
There have been first half goals for both teams in their last three meetings and Friday’s clash could be set to follow a similar pattern at 10/3 with bet365.
This German Bundesliga match between Augsburg and VfB Stuttgart will be played on Apr 21, 2023 and kick off at 19:30. Check below for our tipsters best Augsburg vs VfB Stuttgart prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
