David Wagner: We will be successful if we play our style of football

Even though Schalke’s upcoming opponents are sitting in the relegation zone, it will be still be a tough game according to David Wagner. “We will have to be at our best in Augsburg. We will only be successful if we play our style of football,” said the head coach.

Praise for Augsburg

The Bavarian side’s form has improved over the past couple of weeks. “They have taken very good results from games against Bayern and Wolfsburg recently,” praised Wagner. “Their team is growing together and is more stable. They are a very organised side who like to play down the flanks at pace,” warned the coach.

Only Stambouli out

Wagner expects Sunday’s hosts to play long balls and look to create danger from the subsequent second balls. Nevertheless, S04’s focus will be on themselves first and foremost. “I’m confident that we can win the game on Sunday.” The only Royal Blue who is will definitely be unavailable is Benjamin Stambouli. The Frenchman picked up a foot injury in the Revierderby and will be out for the coming weeks.

The vice captain was replaced by Ozan Kabak on Tuesday night. “He put a good performance in at Bielefeld,” Wagner said on the young Turk, who made his first start for the club against Arminia. “He tackled well and his passing was also good.”

The 48-year-old was also pleased with the performances of strikers Mark Uth and Benito Raman, who combined well against Bielefeld. “I was particularly pleased with how they defended,” stressed Wagner, who went on to say: “normally Burgi is the best presser up front, but they both did a great job on Tuesday.” It’s not yet clear which attackers will get the nod on Sunday evening. “We will have to see who fits our attack the best and who could make an impact from the bench.”