Eintracht Frankfurt vs Augsburg preview - Schaaf not focused on Augsburg form

Posted Saturday, September 13, 2014 by PA

Eintracht Frankfurt coach Thomas Schaaf is not letting Augsburg's poor start to the season faze him as he plots their third defeat in a row on Sunday.

The Bavarians have started the campaign with back-to-back defeats, but Schaaf has instead focused on how strong they were last season, when they beat Bayern Munich among others, to help him prepare for Sunday's encounter.

"Whenever I assess our opponents, I never look at how many they have just lost," he said.

"I rather look at how things are when they deliver their best. What is the best they can do.

"That is what I've got to prepare my team for effectively, as that's the only way you don't run the risk of underestimating them."

Schaaf's own side are currently unbeaten and maintaining that record is the former Werder Bremen coach's priority.

"It may be a cliche but there's no such thing as an easy game in the Bundesliga," he said at a press conference.

"We have lofty ambitions and we want to excite our fans again and improve the football we play, and of course be successful, but we're not in a position where we can talk about points that we don't yet have."

Schaaf must find a replacement for forward Nelson Valdez, who tore cruciate knee ligaments last time out and will not return until the second half of the season.

Augsburg coach Markus Weinzierl has no problems looking back to last season to find a benchmark for his side.

"We picked up a point in Frankfurt last year and that's our minimum goal this time," he said.

"We're highly motivated and we're desperate to get some points at long last."

Tobias Werner is a doubt for the Bavarians while Alexander Esswein could be an option, although Dominik Reinhardt is definitely out.