Bayern’s mission: “Go into the international break with a win”

FC Bayern are away at their nearest neighbours Augsburg on Saturday in the final game before the international break (kick-off 3.30pm CEST, coverage on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app with our live text and free webradio). After beating Barcelona 2-0 during the week, Oliver Kahn put the squad on the spot. “I told the team the win is especially valuable when we follow it up. That means we have to win now in Augsburg,“ the CEO said. Here’s all you need to know on the game.

Check out the photos from final training on Friday:

Situation for Bayern

Julian Nagelsmann and his team have had a gruelling three weeks which have followed the same pattern. Bayern have won the cup games during the week without conceding, while all three league games at the weekends were draws. The idea now is to end that cycle and finally get back to winning ways in the Bundesliga. “Obviously we imagined things differently in the three games in terms of results,” the coach said. He also confirmed it is “very important” to go into the break with a victory. “We’re somewhat behind what we’d imagined in the table and in terms of points,” the 35-year-old added while also not blaming the team, believing they’re having a “good period in terms of pure football”. What’s been missing is converting that into the correct results. “We’re required to take the chances we create. Then I’m confident we’ll go into the international break with a win.”

Watch Nagelsmann’s press conference in full:

Opponents Augsburg

Augsburg brought up their second win of the season last matchday with a 1-0 victory at Werder Bremen, moving out of the relegation zone. “Last week’s game was good for us, and now we’re looking forward to the game against Bayern,” said head coach Enrico Maaßen with confidence, while also showing respect to the opposition from Munich. “We know the quality in the team and need our best possible performance to get something from the game.” The 38-year-old took over at Augsburg in the summer – his first job in the Bundesliga – and is hoping to build on the achievement of his predecessor Markus Weinzierl, who led the team to a 2-1 home win over Bayern in November. “Things worked out well here against Bayern last year. We want to believe something is possible,” Maaßen added.

Player update

Bayern travel to Augsburg without long-term injury absentees Bouna Sarr (knee operation), Lucas Hernandez (groin) and Kingsley Coman (hamstring). However, Nagelsmann has declared that Dayot Upamecano and Benjamin Pavard are fit for the game. Nevertheless, Noussair Mazraoui will start after his impressive display off the bench against Barcelona. “He’ll start tomorrow and can show what he’s got,” the coach confirmed.

The hosts can name the same squad that won last weekend in Bremen, with top scorer Ermedin Demirovic “top fit” again after a knock. Niklas Dorsch, Reece Oxford, Tobias Strobl and Felix Uduokhai are all still out with long-term injuries.

5 stats and facts on the game in Augsburg:

What the coaches say

Julian Nagelsmann: “Augsburg play a lot of long balls, go for the second ball, cross early and shoot a lot from distance. It’s more about work than shining. We’re required to take the chances we create. Then I’m confident we’ll go into the international break with a win.”

Enrico Maaßen (Augsburg head coach): “We’re playing against the champions. It’s a special game. It’s the last game before the international break. We want a good showing in front of a full house and also want to believe that something is possible. We obviously know how tough it is, but it starts at 0-0 and we want to keep something here.”