Union Berlin will hope to distance themselves from the relegation zone when they welcome fellow strugglers Augsburg to Stadion An der Alten Forsterei in the Bundesliga on Wednesday.
The home team are 12th with 17 points and were beaten 2-0 on Saturday by 16th-placed Heidenheim, who are four points behind in the division's relegation playoff spot, while Augsburg are 13th with 16 points and lost 1-0 against Stuttgart on Sunday.
Match preview
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While losing against Heidenheim, who had been beaten in eight and drawn one of their previous nine games, can be seen as a bad result, the hosts' poor performance can be mitigated by the fact they were reduced to 10 men in the 37th minute.
The defeat was also manager Steffen Baumgart's first game in charge of the club, and captain Christopher Trimmel reflected positively on the period his side had 11 players, telling reporters: "For the short time we have now spent with the new coach, a few things have been really good. We have to continue there."
Interestingly, while Union's return of 14 goals scored in the Bundesliga is the league's third-worst tally, their record of 21 goals conceded makes them the top flight's joint third-best defensive team.
Die Eisernen have failed to achieve victory in any of their last 10 fixtures, losing seven and drawing three in that time.
The hosts are also winless in their four most recent home matches, though they have only been beaten once in their seven outings at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei, winning their first three games at home.
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As for Augsburg, they can have no complaints about their defeat at the hands of Stuttgart given they only produced 0.3 xG, two shots on target and no big chances.
Manager Jess Thorup admitted that his side were outclassed for periods last weekend and felt his team could have done more in the final third, saying: "Firstly, I'd like to congratulate the opponents. They started the game really well and we struggled to put them under pressure.
"From the halfway point of the first half onwards, we improved, pressed high and won the ball back well on a few occasions. In this period of momentum, we didn't manage to turn our chances into goals. In the second half too, we kept working hard, which obviously makes the 1-0 defeat even more painful."
Though Augsburg have scored three more goals than their hosts, they have also conceded 12 more times in the Bundesliga, and these are the division's fourth-worst offensive and joint third-worst defensive records.
Thorup will be concerned that his team have lost their last three games by a cumulative score of 8-1, as well as the fact that they have only won once in their past eight Bundesliga matches, succumbing to defeat on four occasions.
The visitors' away form is also alarming considering they have lost five, drawn two and won just two of their nine fixtures on the road this campaign.
Team News
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Baumgart will not be able to select suspended wing-back Tom Rothe, as well as injured goalkeepers Frederik Ronnow and Yannic Stein.
Wing-back Josip Juranovic is also unavailable, so expect Trimmel and Robert Skov to flank centre-backs Danilho Doekhi, Kevin Vogt and Diogo Leite.
Midfielder Laszlo Benes is a doubt as a result of stomach troubles, and this could mean that Union will line up with a midfield two consisting of Rani Khedira and Aljoscha Kemlein.
Meanwhile, Augsburg will be without defenders Maximilian Bauer, Mads Valentin Pedersen, Keven Schlotterbeck and Marius Wolf, so perhaps they will start a back three of Noahkai Banks, Dimitrios Gouweleeuw and Chrislain Matsima.
Midfielders Masaya Okugawa and Yusuf Kabaday will not return to the matchday squad, and this means that Frank Onyeka, Kristijan Jakic and Elvis Rexhbecaj will almost certainly feature on Wednesday.
In the forward line, strikers Alexis Claude-Maurice and Phillip Tietz are likely to spearhead Thorup's attack.
Union Berlin possible starting lineup:
Schwolow; Doekhi, Vogt, Leite; Trimmel, Khedira, Kemlein, Skov; Skarke, Jordan, Hollerbach
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Dahmen; Matsima, Gouweleeuw, Banks; Gumny, Onyeka, Jakic, Rexhbecaj, Giannoulis; Claude-Maurice, Tietz
We say: Union Berlin 1-0 Augsburg
Union will be confident of at least avoiding defeat on Wednesday considering they have proven to be resilient at home this season.
While the hosts have struggled in front of goal, so too have Augsburg, but the visitors may succumb to defat at Stadion An der Alten Forsterei given they have been poor defensively this campaign.
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Lewis Nolan
