Augsburg vs Freiburg prediction: GERMANY: Bundesliga betting tips on match 2022-08-05 13:30.
All eyes will be on two particular players in this opening round Bundesliga fixture after Augsburg and Freiburg swapped key strikers during pre-season. New Augsburg man Ermedin Demirović has moved east after two seasons at the Breisgau club, whilst former Augsburg 100-gamer Michael Gregoritsch will be making his league debut for Freiburg in very familiar surroundings following his most prolific season (nine Bundesliga goals) in four years.
A seventh consecutive bottom-half finish for Augsburg brought the second managerial stint of Markus Weinzierl to an unceremonious end, and this game will now see a Bundesliga first team debut for new boss 38-year-old Enrico Maaßen. Augsburg general manager Stefan Reuter pointed to Weinzierl’s first stint at the club (which resulted in a best finish of fifth) and former manager Manuel Baum’s mid-table finishes in between, as evidence that “young and hot” coaches can bring success to the club.
On the other end of the scale, Freiburg’s Christian Streich who was appointed back in 2011 continues by far the longest active tenure of any Bundesliga club, and the board was rewarded last season for their long-term belief as the club registered its highest finish (sixth) since 2012/13. Despite warmly welcoming some strong signings such as Ritsu Doan, Daniel-Kofi Kyereh and Michael Gregoritsch, Streich calmly acknowledged they’re “not automatically stronger.” It’ll likely take some time for their strongest XI to be formed, with Kyereh and Lucas Höler amongst the absences up forward.
The thrills of Europa League await later in the season, but first Freiburg are looking to return home from Augsburg with league points for a fourth consecutive time (W1, D2). Freiburg’s success last season was actually built on the back of the Bundesliga’s fourth-best away record (W7, D5, L5), including an equal-best goal difference of +9 inside the opening 30 minutes, so a strong start shouldn’t surprise.
Players to watch: Augsburg’s Florian Niederlechner made a strong start to 2021/22, scoring in three games across all competitions by mid-September. Freiburg forward Vincenzo Grifo signed an early contract extension after 13 goals (also in all competitions) last season – all but one was scored in wins.
Hot stat: Augsburg were amongst the league’s worst offenders last season, with a near-high 2.18 yellow cards per game, whilst Freiburg’s average of one card per match was the lowest.