Important points will be up for grabs in the fight for the European places as FC Augsburg host FC Schalke 04 in the first of the two games on Easter Sunday on matchday 27.
For the Bavarian side, their top priority at the start of the season was to stay in the Bundesliga but after a strong first half to the season, in which they picked up 27 points, they began to start dreaming of playing European football next season. Ever since manager Markus Weinzierl spoke about the dream, FCA have started to wobble.
Augsburg are currently the second worst side in the Bundesliga in the form table from the last seven games after only picking up three points and are only ahead of Hannover. The gap between them and the sides behind them has disappeared and their Europa League place is now in danger. They also have two big players on the sidelines in Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker (ankle) and Abdul Rahman Baba (toe).
For Schalke, Europa League football is now their only hope. The 1-0 defeat to Leverkusen extended the gap between themselves and the Werkself. A reason for their failure to achieve Champions League football is the constant changing of the side by Roberto Di Matteo. A good performance is often followed by a setback.
The statistics don’t speak in Augsburg’s favour. The Royal Blues haven’t lost to FCA in any of their eight meetings (two draws, five wins in the Bundesliga, one victory in the DFB Cup) and S04 have won the last three.
Relegation battle in the capital
The relegation battle will heat up on Sunday at 17:30 CEST when Hertha BSC meet SC Paderborn. Unlike their opponents, Berlin know what it feels like to be in this situation. Pal Dardai seems to have given the club from the capital a new lease of life and are undefeated in their last four games, picking up eight points. The gap between Hertha and the sides at the bottom has increased little by little. A win against Paderborn would put Hertha on 32 points, which has been enough for safety in the last seven seasons.
The situation for the side that came up last year is a lot different. André Breitenreiter’s side slipped into a relegation spot for the first time following their 0-0 draw with Hoffenheim. One win from their last 16 games isn’t enough to remain in the league.
What could give them hope is their performance against Europa League chasing Hoffenheim on matchday 26. They put themselves on the line and dominated the game. However, SCP were unable to find the back of the net and they’ll have to put some of their chances away if André Breitenreiter is to be managing the side in the Bundesliga next season. Paderborn have been waiting for a goal for five games and in that time have conceded 15.
Important points will be up for grabs in the fight for the European places as FC Augsburg host FC Schalke 04 in the first of the two games on Easter Sunday on matchday 27.
For the Bavarian side, their top priority at the start of the season was to stay in the Bundesliga but after a strong first half to the season, in which they picked up 27 points, they began to start dreaming of playing European football next season. Ever since manager Markus Weinzierl spoke about the dream, FCA have started to wobble.
Augsburg are currently the second worst side in the Bundesliga in the form table from the last seven games after only picking up three points and are only ahead of Hannover. The gap between them and the sides behind them has disappeared and their Europa League place is now in danger. They also have two big players on the sidelines in Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker (ankle) and Abdul Rahman Baba (toe).
For Schalke, Europa League football is now their only hope. The 1-0 defeat to Leverkusen extended the gap between themselves and the Werkself. A reason for their failure to achieve Champions League football is the constant changing of the side by Roberto Di Matteo. A good performance is often followed by a setback.
The statistics don’t speak in Augsburg’s favour. The Royal Blues haven’t lost to FCA in any of their eight meetings (two draws, five wins in the Bundesliga, one victory in the DFB Cup) and S04 have won the last three.
Relegation battle in the capital
The relegation battle will heat up on Sunday at 17:30 CEST when Hertha BSC meet SC Paderborn. Unlike their opponents, Berlin know what it feels like to be in this situation. Pal Dardai seems to have given the club from the capital a new lease of life and are undefeated in their last four games, picking up eight points. The gap between Hertha and the sides at the bottom has increased little by little. A win against Paderborn would put Hertha on 32 points, which has been enough for safety in the last seven seasons.
The situation for the side that came up last year is a lot different. André Breitenreiter’s side slipped into a relegation spot for the first time following their 0-0 draw with Hoffenheim. One win from their last 16 games isn’t enough to remain in the league.
What could give them hope is their performance against Europa League chasing Hoffenheim on matchday 26. They put themselves on the line and dominated the game. However, SCP were unable to find the back of the net and they’ll have to put some of their chances away if André Breitenreiter is to be managing the side in the Bundesliga next season. Paderborn have been waiting for a goal for five games and in that time have conceded 15.
