Preview:Stuttgart vs. Augsburg - prediction, team news, lineups

Stuttgart host Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Friday, with the visitors looking to put significant distance between themselves and the relegation zone.

The hosts, meanwhile, can climb into the top half of the table with a win.

Match preview

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Overall, it has been a successful first season back in the Bundesliga for Stuttgart following the club's promotion last campaign.

However, Pellegrino Matarazzo will be disappointed to have seen his side fall to four successive defeats ahead of Friday's match against Augsburg, with their outside hopes of finishing inside a European qualification position all but ended as a result.

Nineteen-year-old Naouirou Ahamada's 14th-minute dismissal left them in a world of trouble against RB Leipzig last time out, with Julian Nagelsmann's title-chasing outfit cruising to a 2-0 win via second-half strikes from Amadou Haidara and Emil Forsberg.

Matarazzo will almost certainly view a home match against a struggling Augsburg side as a good opportunity to end their losing run, but he will be cautious regarding a potential new manager bounce at the Bavarian-based club.

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Indeed, after a terrible run of only one point from their previous four matches themselves, Augsburg parted company with Heiko Herrlich after the 3-2 defeat at home to relegation rivals FC Koln last time out.

After over a year in charge, the former Bayer Leverkusen boss has been replaced by Markus Weinzierl, who has already begun his second spell at the club after coaching them between 2012 and 2016.

The 46-year-old famously guided Augsburg into Europe for the first and - so far - only time in their history, eventually losing 1-0 on aggregate to Liverpool in the Europa League knockout stage.

Any aspirations on that level will have to wait until next season, though, with surviving relegation his only short-term priority. The loss to Koln has left Augsburg four points ahead of Friedhelm Funkel's side, who currently occupy the relegation playoff position, as well as six points ahead of 17th-placed Hertha Berlin, who have played two matches fewer.

Team News

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In truth, Stuttgart's form has significantly stuttered since Silas Wamangituka suffered an ACL injury in March, with the winger set to be out of first-team action until November as a result.

Ahamada is suspended after his red card against Leipzig, with captain Gonzalo Castro potentially dropping into a deeper midfield role in his place, meaning Mateo Klimowicz could be an option to feature in behind Sasa Kalajdzic.

Borna Sosa, Orel Mangala, Nicolas Gonzalez and Lilian Egloff are all expected to miss out due to injury, while Marcin Kaminski is unavailable due to COVID-19.

Augsburg, meanwhile, have been dealt a major blow by the news that Germany international defender Felix Uduokhai is likely to miss the rest of the season due to an ankle injury.

Weinzierl is unlikely to be able to call upon the services of Mads Pedersen, Rani Khedira or Tim Civeja in his first game of charge, either, due to injury, while Noah Sarenren Bazee is struggling with illness.

It will be interesting to see whether the 46-year-old hands Augsburg's longest-serving player Jan Moravek a start, having signed the Czech Republic international for the club back in 2012, while Marco Richter and Florian Niederlechner will be hoping for recalls to the starting XI.

Stuttgart possible starting lineup:

Kobel; Mavropanos, Anton, Kempf; Massimo, Endo, Castro, Coulibaly; Klimowicz, Forster; Kalajdzic

Augsburg possible starting lineup:

Gikiewicz; Framberger, Oxford, Gouweleeuw, Iago; Caligiuri, Strobl, Gruezo, Vargas; Niederlechner, Hahn

We say: Stuttgart 1-2 Augsburg

We can envisage Augsburg enjoying a new manager bounce on Friday against a Stuttgart side who have lacked motivation and quality in recent weeks.

Weinzierl enjoyed an excellent time of things in his last spell at the club and will be looking to make an instant impact this time around by securing survival as quickly as possible.