Bayer Leverkusen vs Augsburg preview - Leverkusen looking to bounce back

Posted Tuesday, September 23, 2014 by PA

Roger Schmidt wants his Bayer Leverkusen side to rediscover the right path when they host Augsburg on Wednesday night.

Defeat in the Champions League in Monaco and their first loss in the Bundesliga at the weekend - a 4-1 defeat at Wolfsburg - have seen them lose their way a little, and Schmidt does not want them to deviate too far as then it will become increasingly difficult to get back to where they were after five consecutive wins at the start of the season.

"It's always hard to play against Augsburg," Schmidt said at a press conference. "They are very disciplined and have some real weapons in their attack, but we desperately want to get back on a winning track, particularly in front of our own fans.

"Our will to win is enormous. Against Monaco and also the last quarter of an hour against Wolfsburg, we lost our way a bit.

"What matters tomorrow is that we prove from the first second that we are capable of winning."

Schmidt has ruled out a return of the injured Omer Toprak, but Stefan Kiessling is set to come back in after he was rested on Saturday.

Augsburg head to Leverkusen buoyed by back-to-back Bundesliga wins, but they have not yet managed to pick up a single point in six previous clashes with their hosts.

"It's about time we changed that," said the Bavarians' coach Markus Weinzierl. "I'm sure they are looking forward to playing against us."

Markus Feulner is still sidelined for Augsburg with Weinzierl set to stick to the side which beat Werder Bremen 4-2 at the weekend.