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Schmidt: "We want to bring this development to a positive conclusion"

First Team 19.12.2019, 15:18

At the end of the first half of the season, FC Augsburg has a big challenge ahead of them. Because on Saturday, December 21, (3:30 pm CET) the Fuggerstädter will compete against the league leaders RasenBallsport Leipzig. Coach Martin Schmidt sees his team as being in the role of a "well-prepared underdog", which is why he definitely foresees opportunities for the FCA.

It was only last Tuesday that Augsburg celebrated a 3-0 home win against Fortuna Düsseldorf, thy were back in Bundesliga action again on Saturday, but for the last time in 2019. The first half of the 2019/20 season ended with a very interesting matchup. In FC Augsburg and RasenBallsport Leipzig, two teams meet who have taken 16 points from the past six games. "These are two teams that are currently in good shape and play attractive football," says Schmidt describing the pre-match situation. Despite these similarities and the tie on paper, he warns against speaking of an even game: "It would be fatal to presume something. Leipzig has been playing for top spot for weeks, we are clearly the underdog."

However, his Augsburg go into the game as "well-prepared", according to the coach. You want to "take the momentum with you and there is still a lot". The players had earned a few days off over Christmas, but they were all more than motivated for the last game of the year. The FCA will have to do without Rani Khedira on Saturday, who will be absent due to an accumulation of yellow cards. There is a replacement in the form of the recovered Jan Morávek, but Schmidt also has other alternatives in mind.

Positive run of form a reward for good teamwork

This flexibility is certainly part of the "group dynamic development process" that the FCA went through in the first half of the season. The game in Mönchengladbach in particular has shown its effect. Since then, FCA have always performed well and concentrated. "It was a continuous process. We are now defensively stable and have also raised our standards", the Swiss summarizes the past few months. "We hope that we can bring this development to a positive conclusion in Leipzig."

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RasenBallsport Leipzig