Bundesliga: Can Augsburg Defend Their Fortress Against a Shorthanded Leverkusen?

Augsburg vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Leverkusen are now five points clear of the mighty Bavarians in the Bundesliga table, and they have a chance to extend their lead when they visit the impenetrable WWK Stadium for Matchday 17.

It won’t be a walk in the park for Alonso’s outfit, as they’ll brave the German top flight shorthanded while having targets on their backs. And it doesn’t help that they’ll be facing an inspired Augsburg, who have been quite the force to be reckoned with at their home stadium.

It’s vital for both teams to have winning Bundesliga 2024 results to start the calendar year, but only one outfit can come out of this tie with three league points.

Talking Points

Victor Boniface suffers right adductor injury

It’s a huge blow for a club to lose key players for international duties, AFCON and AFC Asia Cup in particular, as these tournaments would force pivotal players to take leave from their clubs for a month or so in the middle of their cutthroat season in their domestic leagues.

But it’s a low blow for players to get injured while on international duty.

Victor Boniface will return to Germany earlier than expected, but it’s not for reasons Leverkusen would have wanted.

Xabi Alonso was expected to be without his top goal scorer for at least a month, as the 23-year-old will compete in the AFCON, but worse came to worst for Alonso and Leverkusen when Boniface suffered an injury that would keep him sidelined for a couple of months.

“Victor Boniface suffered a muscle-tendon injury in the right adductor area during the Nigerian training camp in Dubai. The striker will undergo surgery in the coming days and is expected to be out of action until early April.” Leverkusen reported through their social media.

An MRI scan revealed the extent of the striker’s sustained injury, and it was shown that Boniface will require corrective surgery and will be out of action until after the first term of the calendar year.

His injury is a huge blow for his motherland, Nigeria, and for Die Werkself as well. Aside from withdrawing from the AFCON, the Nigerian striker will also miss a few months of Bundesliga action, which includes their upcoming matchup against Augsburg.

Augsburg pump their chests at WWK Stadium

Fuggerstädter are 4-6-6 after 16 top-flight matchdays and are currently at the bottom half of the Bundesliga table. Their struggles this term are evident, but they’ve started to slowly patch things up ever since appointing Jess Thorup to be the man at the helm.

Since the arrival of Thorup, FCA have been unbeaten in WWK Stadium, fending off clubs like Hoffenheim, Wolfsburg, and even Dortmund.

Their success in front of their home fans is definitely the biggest bright spot in their tepid season in the top flight. But they’re slowly picking up the pieces, going undefeated in November, which included a 5-2 thrashing of Regensburg.

They’d slightly fallen off when winter came, falling into the hands of Stuttgart and Werder. Fuggerstädter have been shaky and inconsistent, to say the least, but their dominance at home has become their calling card this season.

Hosting Leverkusen will be the greatest test for the striving club, and they should take advantage of the fact that Xabi Alonso and his formidable Leverkusen are a bit shorthanded when they make the trip to WWK Stadium.

History

Since 2008, Leverkusen have dominated their head-to-head matchups, winning 16 of their 26 bouts, while Augsburg have only been able to win three times and tally seven draws to boot.

Fuggerstädter won their most recent matchup with a thrilling 1-0 victory at WWK Arena. Megrim Berisha scored the only goal of the game, finding the back of the net from an Arne Engles feed.

Despite their pedestrian record, they’ve been mighty at home, losing just one of their eight top-flight matches at home. This impressive statistic makes club history, as Augsburg have never had this much success in front of their home fans.

Speaking of impressive statistics, Xabi Alonso and his team have remained undefeated in all 25 competitive matches thus far this season, making history as one of the only four clubs to have such a record while competing in the German top flight.

In recent history, Leverkusen won their last two Bundesliga matches entering the 2024 calendar year, and they did it in dominant fashion. They dismantled Bochum 4-0 after humbling Frankfurt 3-0, and now Augsburg are next on the menu.

Meanwhile, Jess Thorup’s outfit had a rough few matchdays, failing to garner a win in their last three top-flight bouts. Their last win was against Dino Toppmöller’s boys at WWK Arena back in December 4. The home team ended the game with a 2-1 score line, which should’ve really been a clean sheet victory if it wasn’t for Dahmen’s own goal.

Betting Tip

Leverkusen have already scored 46 goals this season, trailing only Bayern Munich for the most goals in the Bundesliga. Meanwhile, Augsburg currently hold a -7 goal difference, conceding more than 30 goals in 16 top-flight matches, which is why my betting tip is -1.00 Asian Handicap for Bayer Leverkusen at 1.85.

Having a goal handicap against an 11th-seeded outfit is not a tough ask for the current No. 1 in the Bundesliga, especially given how Leverkusen’s forwards have been playing. A price of 1.85 should be enough to pique even the strictest of punters and give the most casual of fans an exciting match.

The Bundesliga 2024 betting odds have the top club in the top flight of Germany as the heavy favourites at 1.47, which is spot on, in my opinion. While the striving home team, Augsburg, are the underdogs at 5.30 to win and 4.22 to draw.

This SBOTOP writer would suggest going for total goals over 3.00 at 1.92, given Leverkusen’s offencive prowess, instead of any 1X2 offers.

 

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