Baum: “Learn our lessons for Sunday”
Second half of the season gets underway at the WWK ARENA
First Team
16.01.2026, 17:05
FC Augsburg are at home once again this weekend, with the team gearing up to welcome SC Freiburg to the WWK ARENA for the first reverse fixture of the current season. Kick-off against the side sat in eighth in the Bundesliga is scheduled for 17:30 CET.
After conceding a late goal to seal a 1-1 draw at home to 1. FC Union Berlin this week, FCA will want to ensure they’re rewarded fully for another 90 minutes of hard work on Sunday. “The game against Freiburg will be a challenge, but we’ve come up with some good ideas that we’ve been working on,” said Augsburg head coach Manuel Baum. “Emotions were running high in the game. We’ve obviously placed a lot of emphasis on that final goal in our analysis after the match. We’ll learn our lessons and take them with us as we move on to Sunday.”
More than anything, Baum is demanding that his players become more clinical in the final third: “We need goals, and we had enough chances to be scoring some. We want to see more runs in behind the backline. After all, we have enough players who can set up dangerous opportunities.” The head coach made sure to emphasise the quality of Augsburg’s next opponents in his press conference: “Freiburg are a really strong side, very disciplined in their defending and flexible in their positioning.” A real togetherness on the pitch is essential for the game, he said: “We are one unit, one team, and we want to always be there for one another and help each other on the pitch.”
Changes to the XI possible, but not guaranteed
FCA had a seriously enjoyable day in Freiburg for the reverse fixture, running out 3-1 winners at the Europa-Park Stadion. Baum wasn’t revealing any concrete details on the starting line-up for this weekend’s encounter: “We’ll see who looks the most fresh, and who fits best for this specific game. Fatigue and little knocks obviously play a role here, but it’s also important that we have a solid spine on the pitch.”
Baum did give some reassuring news about striker Samuel Essende, though: despite being caught by a high boot from Derrick Köhn shortly before the final whistle blew against Union, the 27-year-old has been able to fully take part in training and is available for selection against Freiburg.
