FC Augsburg go to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday at 15.30 Uhr on Sky with Manuel Baum asking his team to do again what they managed at Bayern Munich at the end of January. Augsburg won 2-1 in that game, a result that still stands as Bayern's only Bundesliga defeat this season.
Baum was blunt about the value of that night in Munich. It was, he said, a nice story, but it does not help Augsburg now because it belongs to the past. What matters in Leverkusen is copying the approach, not reliving the memory.
The game also brings a milestone for Baum, who will coach Augsburg for the 100th time in the Bundesliga. He said the opponent will demand everything from his side and described Leverkusen as a team with huge quality, capable of going at full speed but sometimes not quite following through. “It will be a totally exciting game,” he said.
Augsburg go into it four points off a Champions-League place, which gives the match real weight in the league table as well as in the club's recent form. Baum has also had to balance that ambition against a few selection issues, with Jeffrey Gouweleeuw carrying a question mark after a blow to the knee. The coach said Gouweleeuw could yet be available for the weekend if everything goes well.
There is better news on Alexis Claude-Maurice, who is fit after missing a late penalty in the 2-2 draw with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim a week earlier. Baum made clear he does not see the midfielder as distracted by talk about his future. Claude-Maurice's contract runs until summer 2027, two years after he joined from OGC Nice on a free transfer, and the coach described him as fully focused on his performance, very creative and technically strong in one-on-one situations. He also called him a full professional and said he raises the standard in training.
That combination of pressure and possibility is what makes Leverkusen vs Augsburg worth watching. Augsburg have already shown once this season that they can land a result few expect; now they have to prove it was not a one-off.
