Maaßen: "We're going to need a brilliant performance"
FCA coach speaks to the press ahead of Leipzig clash
First Team
21.10.2022, 12:31
Following the away defeat to FC Köln (3-2) and the gruelling Pokal elimination at the hands FC Bayern München (5-2), FC Augsburg are now faced with a home clash against RB Leipzig. Ahead of the game on Saturday (15:30 CEST), head coach Enrico Maaßen has placed emphasis on freshness, intensity and the fans’ support.
“The atmosphere against Bayern was brilliant, which for us is a very important factor if we want to be successful,” Maaßen said. Leipzig will be visiting a WWK Arena with already 24,000 tickets sold – and Maaßen describes them as “a team with a strong squad and a lot of pace. They have recovered well and put together a good string of results recently.”
Under the stewardship of their new manager Marco Rose, someone familiar to Maaßen from his time at Dortmund, RB Leipzig have won five of their last six competitive games, including a resounding victory in the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday against Hamburg (4-0). “We’re going to need a brilliant performance if we are going to get something from this game,” explained Maaßen, adding: “There are still five more games to come this year and it’s now all about getting every point we can from every matchday.”
Gumny out, Berisha questionable
The Red-Green-Whites will be without the services of Robert Gumny for the upcoming Champions League clash against Leipzig, who suffered a muscular injury in the Pokal. Goalkeeper Rafał Gikiewicz will also be unavailable, while Mergim Berisha, Fredrik Jensen and Frederick Winther are still all questionable. Berisha trained individually on Thursday, he should however take part in the final training session on Friday.
“The situation isn’t easy, but we have and will continue to find solutions,” says Maaßen, who wants his team to be as fresh as possible ahead the third match in the space of a week. “It will be extremely important that we have that intensity once again.” Finally, the FCA coach is aware that the upcoming task is a tough one: “Leipzig’s biggest strength is how they play out of possession and their gegenpressing, from which they are able to create lots of chances. That is going to be big challenge for us!”
