Baum: We want to start the Rückrunde with that winning feeling

After an intensive winter training camp, FC Augsburg return to Bundesliga action on Saturday, 19th January (15:30 CET). In their first match of the Rückrunde, FCA welcome Fortuna Düsseldorf to the WWK ARENA. FCA head coach Manuel Baum is optimistic of his team’s chances ahead of the match. The week leading up to FC Augsburg’s first match of the Rückrunde has been full of good news. After extending the contract with stadium sponsors and main club sponsors WWK, FCA have secured contract extensions with Daniel Baier, Jeffrey Gouweleeuw and Kevin Danso. Manuel Baum believes that even more good news is on the way, if Augsburg can take all three points against Düsseldorf on Saturday. “We've had some great news this week, especially the new deal with WWK and the contract extensions. We want to complete the week in style with all three points on Saturday. It is a very important match but we are fully focused.” Opponents Düsseldorf full of confidence Fortuna Düsseldorf ended the Hinrunde by winning each of their last three matches and are no easy opponents to face. Manuel Baum is aware of their strengths. “Fortuna ended the Hinrunde very impressively. They defend in numbers and are very compact. They have several players who can turn defence into attack quickly.  Their style of play doesn’t centre around possession and we have to unlock their compact defence. We also cannot allow them to settle into the match. If we do this, we have a chance at winning on Saturday.” Similarly, captain Daniel Baier is also motivated for the match. “We are all excited that we are returning to Bundesliga action. We haven’t always played well at home this season so we want to show what we can do on Saturday. To achieve this, we will give everything we have from the very first minute.” Baum also believes his team are ready for the match. “Based on what we saw in the training camp, we are going in the right direction. We can definitely secure all three points in the WWK ARENA. Tactically, we are very flexible and are fully focused.”