Bayer Leverkusen vs Augsburg

BayArena is the venue as Bayer Leverkusen and Augusburg look to put their stuttering starts to the new Bundesliga season firmly behind them.

It’s been a slow start to the season for Bayer Leverkusen. Following a shock DFB-Pokal round-one exit at the hands of third-tier Elversberg, Gerardo Seoane’s men suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at Borussia Dortmund on the opening Bundesliga weekend. Augsburg’s visit to BayArena could help ‘Die Werkself’ turn their fortunes around as they’re unbeaten in all 22 Bundesliga H2Hs to date (W15, D7). In fact, Bayer’s 68% win ratio versus Augsburg is higher than against any other Bundesliga side they’ve met 10+ times in Germany’s top flight. On top of that, Leverkusen picked Augsburg apart in both last season’s clashes, winning each by 4+ goals ‘to one.’ Indeed, they have bagged a whopping 52 goals across 22 Bundesliga H2Hs, averaging 2.4 per game.

On the other hand, an embarrassing 4-0 home loss to Freiburg on matchday one overshadowed Augsburg’s comfortable 4-0 thumping of non-league Lohne in the opening DFB-Pokal round as they look to be bracing themselves for another season-long fight against the drop. Enrico Maaßen’s men finished just five points clear of the relegation spots last season and are again one of the likeliest candidates to fight in the bottom half of the table. A potential defeat at BayArena would see ‘Die Fuggerstädter’ lost both opening Bundesliga matches of the season for the first time since 2014/15. But it wouldn’t be surprising if they fail to get on the scoresheet as they drew a blank in their two inaugural league fixtures last season.