FC Augsburg host SV Werder Bremen at the WWK ARENA on Sunday, 5th February. “We showed last week against Wolfsburg what we are doing at the moment. We also want to play like that against Bremen,” said FCA head coach Manuel Baum ahead of the fixture.
Preparations for the game were slightly unusual since Manuel Baum gave his players another day off on Thursday. “Since we are playing on the Friday after the Bremen game in Mainz and therefore will have a shorter week, it would then have been nearly 14 days of training. However we did this to allow the players time to regenerate. It is also important mentality for them to recover,” explained Baum.
Baum is hoping that his team will be fresh for Sunday. Paul Verhaegh and Jonathan Schmid who had both been out with flu, are also available once again. “We’re past the wave of flu,” Baum reported. Whether Daniel Bayer will be back in the squad will be decided late on. “He trained with us again on Friday. Now we have to see if he’ll be up to it for Sunday,” said Baum.
Jeffrey Gouweleeuw, who spent time with his children on Thursday, is excited for the match on Sunday. “I’m looking forward to the game against Bremen. I’ve played against Bremen twice and won twice. I also scored my first goal against Bremen in the reverse fixture earlier this season. Long may my winning form against them continue,” said the Dutchman, who is back playing a key role in the FCA team after recovering from a collapsed lung. “The way he played against Mönchengladbach after such a serious incident before the winter break was impressive. We’re glad that Jeffrey is fit again,” said Manuel Baum as he praised the centre-back.