Schmidt: "We want to put on a show for our fans"

After picking up the first away point of the season last Saturday in Freiburg, FC Augsburg are now determined to maintain their good form. Ahead of next weekend’s game against Bayer 04 Leverkusen (Saturday 15:30 CEST), FCA head coach Martin Schmidt addressed the following topics: The Freiburg game: "We wanted to be brave going into this game. At the start, we had to survive some sustained pressure from Freiburg, but we did well and ended up putting in a strong performance away from home. Perhaps we got a little lucky towards the end, but you have to earn your own luck as well." His team’s development: "We’ve picked up five points from our last four games and have only conceded once in each of the last two games. It is important that we keep up the continuity, because when you’ve played well over a longer period of time, you become more confident, which can then be seen in your game. The small steps count for a lot." The defence: "You can see improvements from game to game. Felix Uduokhai and Tin Jedvaj are two quick, ball-playing centre-halves, which helps our possession game, but they have also taken to each other well on the defensive side of things. That same goes for the other defenders, who need to build on this stability now." Personnel: "Daniel Baier was able to increase his workload over the weekend and he is back in team training. It looks like he will be an option for the squad this weekend. We’ve been cautious with Raphael Framberger’s workload, while several other players had niggles, but have since recovered. Marco Richter has a wound on his thigh, so it might be better to decrease his workload for the week. Saturday’s game: "Leverkusen used to be known for their transition game, but under Peter Bosz they’ve turned into a high-pressure possession team. The squad also has tremendous quality, from back to front, but teams like this suit us really well – we have what it takes to beat them. We’ve not lost a game at home yet and we want to put on another show for our fans. I am looking forward to the game.