For the first time, VfL Bochum and FC Augsburg will meet in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Yet the two teams only faced each other the other day at Castroper Straße. For coach Thomas Reis, the trip to FCA will also be a trip into his own past.
Many encounters between the two clubs have not yet been recorded. The only duels in the 2. league took place in 2010/11. VfL had just been relegated from the Bundesliga, while Augsburg were promoted at the end of that season. Both teams won the away games at that time.
Question mark behind cup hero Riemann
They will meet for the first time in the Bundesliga on Saturday, but they only saw each other recently, five weeks ago. Because in the second round of the DFB Cup, VfL knocked FCA out of the competition with a 5:4 penalty shootout. Manuel Riemann became the hero back then, converting the decisive last penalty to win the match after he had been substituted shortly before.
Whether the goalkeeper will actually stand between the posts on Saturday and experience his 200th competitive match for Bochum is currently still completely open. Due to muscular problems in his thigh, the keeper has to take a break, just like last week. He didn’t train much, but then played a great game against SC Freiburg.
By the way, football finesse is not necessarily to be expected on Saturday, because the two teams with the worst passing rate in the league will meet. VfL got 70.6 percent of their passes to the man, FCA 70.8 percent. At least the promoted team is showing a slight upward trend here. “Recently,” said coach Thomas Reis, “we have improved a little in this respect. “
Reis’ trip down memory lane
For Reis himself, by the way, it will be a bit of a trip down memory lane, as the left-footed player moved from Bochum to Augsburg in 2003 and played a total of 27 times for FCA in the Regionalliga Süd.
Augsburg is also a meeting point for the two players who have intercepted the most opposing passes league-wide this season. In this respect, Augsburg’s Reece Oxford is number two with 29 intercepted passes, while the top player is Bochum captain Anthony Losilla, who has intercepted an opponent’s pass 35 times this season. The veteran is therefore not only extremely strong on the run, but also a very successful “hoover”.
Recently, the promoted team has celebrated some spectacular successes, for example the 2:1 against third-placed SC Freiburg. However, Thomas Reis’s team still has problems away from home, although they have already had to play several Champions League teams.
While VfL Bochum’s start in the Bundesliga has been more than successful with 16 points from their first 13 matches, their record away from home is in need of improvement. Bochum have lost six of their seven away games this season, only taking three points at bottom side Fürth (1-0). “We definitely want to work on that as soon as possible,” said Reis.
