Augsburg will be hoping to pull away from the relegation zone in the Bundesliga when they welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to the WWK Arena on Sunday.

Both sides returned from Germany's winter break last weekend and began 2022 with defeats, but whilst the hosts are in danger at the wrong end of the table, the visitors remain in the midst of a battle for the European places.

Match preview

Augsburg's first game of the New Year could not have been much more difficult, as Markus Weinzierl's side travelled to face an in-form Hoffenheim side at the PreZero Arena.

Michael Gregoritsch's goal inside five minutes seemed to set Fuggerstadter up for a successful afternoon against the odds, but Ihlas Bebou's double for the hosts just before half time turned the game on its head in an instant.

Augsburg remained in the clash until second-half stoppage time, when Hoffenheim sealed the win with a third goal through David Raum, but in truth, Augsburg were well beaten in the end.

That loss leaves Weinzierl's team in the relegation playoff spot of 16th heading into matchday 19 at the weekend, just one point above Arminia Bielefeld in the drop zone, but level on points with Stuttgart above them.

The tight nature of the Bundesliga so far this campaign means a couple of positive results could catapult Augsburg up the table, but realistically that appears to be a tough ask for a side so shy in front of goal.

Sunday's hosts have managed just 18 goals from their opening 18 Bundesliga outings up to this point, but 19-year-old Ricardo Pepi's arrival from FC Dallas in the MLS is an intriguing acquisition, and one that could provide the much-needed spark if Augsburg are to lift themselves away from danger in the coming weeks and months.

Meanwhile, Sunday's visitors Frankfurt seemed all set to open 2022 with an impressive win over second-placed Borussia Dortmund last weekend.

Rafael Santos Borre's quickfire double in the first half had put Oliver Glasner's side in the driving seat, despite Dortmund's bright start to the game.

Die Adler appeared comfortable for much of the second half, but three goals inside the final 20 minutes from the visitors rocked Frankfurt and meant that a fourth consecutive victory was snatched away from them in an instant.

That demoralising defeat denied Frankfurt a rise to fifth in the table, so instead they currently occupy eighth ahead of Sunday's trip to Augsburg, but just one point off the first European spot of sixth, and three behind Freiburg in the Champions League places.

Glasner will be keen for his players to focus on the positives of last week's disappointment, of which there were many, including his side's 23rd and 24th goals in their last 11 matches across all competitions.

That success in front of goal has meant that the visitors have put their stuttering start to the campaign well behind them, and despite the loss to Dortmund, Frankfurt head to Augsburg on the back of six victories in their last eight Bundesliga fixtures.

Team News

Weinzierl could be tempted to hand Pepi a full debut on Sunday, after the American forward had to settle for a 30-minute cameo from the bench in the defeat to Hoffenheim.

Reece Oxford could return at the heart of the defence after he served a one-match suspension last weekend, and the 23-year-old could replace captain Jeffrey Gouweleeuw, who is doubtful due to a muscle problem.

Mads Pedersen and Tomas Koubek miss out through injury and COVID-19 respectively, whilst Tobias Strobl is out for the remainder of the season due to a serious knee injury.

As for the visitors, first-choice central midfield pairing Djibril Sow and Kristijan Jakic will be pushing to be reunited in the centre of the pitch on Sunday, with the former missing out entirely last weekend, and the latter only fit enough for a substitute appearance.

Those could be the only changes that Glasner opts to make for Frankfurt, with his side impressing for much of their defeat against Dortmund.

Aymen Barkok is on international duty at AFCON, Erik Durm and Danny da Costa should miss out due to COVID-19, and Christopher Lenz and Jens Petter Hauge are ruled out until the end of the month due to injury.

Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Gikiewicz; Gumny, Uduokhai, Oxford, Iago; Maier, Dorsch; Hahn, Vargas; Gregoritsch, Pepi

Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Tuta, Hinteregger, N'Dicka; Chandler, Sow, Jakic, Kostic; Lindstrom, Kamada; Borre

We say: Augsburg 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt

Despite their defeat last weekend, Frankfurt still impressed in their showing and displayed the quality that has seen them return to form over the past couple of months.

For this reason, we are predicting an away win in this clash on Sunday, although we expect it to only be a narrow triumph against an Augsburg side that usually performs much better on home soil.

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