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September 14, 2024
As FC Augsburg prepares for a crucial win against St. Pauli on Sunday, trainer Jess Thorup talked about potential personnel changes during his press conference on Friday.
After a switch to a back-three helped the Fuggerstädter win a test fixture over the international break, two of the summer’s new additions may be ready for their FCA starting XI debuts.
A humiliating away defeat against 1. FC Heidenheim in the round just prior to the international break leaves FC Augsburg desperate for a “reaction” win against newly promoted side FC St. Pauli at home this weekend. FCA trainer Jess Thorup admitted as much at his Friday presser in his first official appearance since inking a contract extension yesterday.
Thorup’s usual 4-4-2 diamond system – widely regarded as a complete failure in German footballing circles – requires tweaking. Augsburg’s Danish trainer opted for a 3-4-3 re-format in a test fixture against Ulm over the international break. With new summer additions Henri Koudossou (promoted from the reserves) and Marius Wolf (signed on a free) operating as wingbacks, Thorup’s men were able to engineer a 4-1 victory.
Thorup hinted that he might keep the back three against St. Pauli in a crucial home fixture. Matters could have hardly gone better against Ulm. Attacker Yusuf Kabadayi – a potential laden Bayern loanee – scored a goal. At the same time, Wolf and Koudossou’s fellow summer promotion, Mahmut Kücüksahin, registered assists. Hitherto flop Masaya Okugawa also got his name on the scoresheet.
Thorup maintains many options following a highly active and generally regarded successful summer transfer window. Thorup referenced both Wolf and Benin striker Steve Mounié as two summer additions who may expect to start on Sunday. Mounié returned from the international break flying high after logging maximum minutes and scoring a goal for his country.
“He [Mounie] coming back with a lot of self-confidence and has shown in his two appearances that he is an option for the starting XI,” Thorup said on Friday, He’s ready, that’s for sure. Physically, Marius [Wolf] is ready for more minutes. That was evident in the game against Ulm.”
Bochum will travel to the Europa-Park Stadion on Saturday to attempt to claim their first points of the Bundesliga season
Freiburg boss Julian Schuster has won two and lost one of his first three matches in senior management. Schuster began his tenure with a 4-0 victory over Osnabrück in the DFB-Pokal before his side kicked off the Bundesliga season with a 3-1 home win against Stuttgart. Unfortunately for Schuster, he suffered his first defeat in the away meeting with Bayern Munich before the international break. Goals from Harry Kane and Thomas Müller condemned Freiburg to a 2-0 defeat at the Allianz Arena.
The Breisgau-Brasilianer will return to the Europa-Park Stadion, where they will attempt to claim consecutive home league victories for the first time since October 2023. Freiburg have fared well in recent meetings with Bochum, having won each of their last five head-to-head Bundesliga matches. They recorded 2-1 victories in both encounters with Bochum in the 2024/25 season.
Team News
Manuel Gulde, Michael Gregoritsch, Maximilian Philipp, and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh are expected to be absent from the hosts’ roster.
Peter Zeidler has experienced a disappointing start to his tenure, having seen all three competitive matches end in defeat. Bochum crashed out of the Pokal with a 1-0 loss to second-tier Jahn Regensburg. They suffered another 1-0 defeat in their Bundesliga opener against RB Leipzig before they lost 2-0 in their home clash with Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Due to those two league defeats, Bochum is one of two teams that have yet to pick a point this season. They are also searching for their first goal of the new campaign, and they will be desperate to change that statistic in Saturday’s away fixture.
Die Unabsteigbaren will travel to the Europa-Park Stadion with hopes of beating Freiburg for the first time since recording a 2-1 home victory in November 2021.
Team News
Bernardo and Ivan Ordets are ruled out as having knee and shoulder injuries, respectively.
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Katarzyna Nowak is a seasoned writer with over five years of experience in editorial content, news reporting, and cricket sportsbook app reviews. As an author for Latest Football News, she combines her deep understanding of the sports betting industry with a passion for cricket, delivering insightful and accurate content that keeps readers informed and engaged.
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