Eintracht Frankfurt seek five Bundesliga wins on the trot when they host an Augsburg side 11 places adrift in the table in Saturday's gameweek 13 clash at Deutsche Bank Park.
Dino Toppmoller's men, beaten by RB Leipzig in the DFB-Pokal last 16 midweek, seek a return to winning ways against an opponent with a wretched road record this term.
Match preview
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Eyebrows may have been raised after Frankfurt were eliminated by an out-of-form Leipzig in the domestic cup on Wednesday, given SGE's form before the round of 16 clash and their opponents entering the tie without a win in six, losing five.
Despite that cup disappointment, the Bundesliga's second-placed club seek to shake off the midweek defeat on their return to topflight action against Jess Thorup's 13th-placed men.
Supporters at Deutsche Bank Park have reason to be confident before Saturday, given their side's strong run at home this term: the Eagles have notched 13 points from 15 as hosts in 2024-25, and they share their undefeated home run with Borussia Dortmund (19 points from 21) and Bayern Munich (13 points from 15).
Continuing that run by securing a fifth consecutive league win will see Frankfurt match their longest winning streak since early 2021, when they secured five victories under Adi Hutter, and Toppmoller's men are favourites to claim maximum points to respond to Wednesday's Pokal loss in Leipzig.
Further emphasising the Eagles' superiority is their positive record against Augsburg in recent meetings in Frankfurt, notching three wins and twice sharing the points, making them favourites to extend their unbeaten streak in gameweek 13's encounter.
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That confidence is boosted by Augsburg's wretched away results in 24-25, highlighted by the Bavarians losing four of five road matches.
With only one point of their 15 gained away from home, Thorup's side have the second-worst away record in the league, ahead of only Bochum.
Fuggerstadter have struggled at both ends of the pitch during the current run, scoring twice in five and letting in 15, a number worse than all but VfL Bochum (20).
The club's winless road sequence goes back to 2023-24 and through the calendar year, last winning at Wolfsburg (3-1) in March, their third road success of 2024, before starting a disappointing run of losing eight of nine (one draw) heading into Saturday.
It will be interesting to see if the Bavarians stun their high-flying opponents, but road results are essential going forward to avoid looking over their shoulder in the battle for survival as they sit five points ahead of Heidenheim in the relegation playoff spots and 10 clear of second-bottom Holstein Kiel.
Team News
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Despite firing blanks in the midweek cup loss at Leipzig, Omar Marmoush (13 goals) is one behind Harry Kane in the goalscoring charts and match-winning strikes, with the Englishman netting five game-clinching goals to Marmoush's four.
Belgian Arthur Theate is doubtful with an ankle issue, while Aurele Amenda, who has a similar injury, is expected to miss out.
Reece Oxford is absent for Augsburg, although Thorup's side will assess Fredrik Jensen and Robert Gummy's groin injuries before this weekend's visit to Frankfurt.
Although Phillip Tietz and Alexis Claude-Maurice have netted four and three goals respectively, only the former (two) has netted away from home, and the Bavarians hope their leading scorers come up trumps against high-flying opponents.
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Kristensen, Tuta, Koch, Brown; Gotze, Skhiri, Larsson, Knauff; Ekitike, Marmoush
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Labrovic; Matsima, Gouweleeuw, Schlotterbeck; Wolf, Onyeka, Jakic, Rexhbecaj, Giannoulis; Claude-Maurice, Tietz
We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 Augsburg
Even though they have conceded six goals on home soil, only Dortmund (19) have outdone Frankfurt's 16 goals as hosts in the Bundesliga this term.
Despite the disappointment of losing to Leipzig in the Pokal, Die Adler should secure a routine victory against an Augsburg side without a road win since March to extend the visitors' nine-match winless league sequence on their travels.
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