Head coach Sebastian Hoeneß is still without injured quartet Dan-Axel Zagadou (knee), El Bilal (metatarsal) Justin Diehl and Luca Raimund (both muscular) this weekend, but two important attacking players have returned to fitness in recent days. “Jamie Leweling and Deniz Undav are back in full training and options for Sunday,” said Hoeneß, adding: “We’re looking forward to having Jamie’s power and Deniz’s finesse and creativity. We need to be patient, though. Both players have been out for a long time.”
Additional attacking options
Following Wednesday’s arrival of Jacob Bruun Larsen, Hoeneß has yet another additional attacking ace up his sleeve. “Jacob has enormous potential,” he said of the Denmark international, who spent time on loan at VfB during the 2017/18 season. “He is very quick, solid, technically astute and can cause problems in front of goal with both feet. He has shown that time and time again. From Sunday onwards, we’re playing every three days on average. We needed the extra pace Jacob gives us because of our busy schedule and the absences of Justin Diehl and El Bilal.”
Augsburg strong on home soil
Despite a promising start to the new year and a thorough mid-season training regime ahead of their first competitive fixture of 2025, Hoeneß is wary of an Augsburg side who have an impressive home record and will take on VfB with the shackles off on Sunday. “Augsburg have been incredibly strong at home and are hard to play against on home soil,” he said. “They will certainly have high hopes, but we also want to make a positive start to the year. To do that, we know we’ll have to hold our own at first on Sunday. They will put us under pressure early on and defend aggressively high up the pitch. We need to find solutions for that.”