SV Elversberg host FC Augsburg at the Ursapharm Arena on 17 October 2026, with Elversberg ninth on seven points after five games and Augsburg a place above in sixth on eight. The pressure sits heavier on the hosts, who need to show they belong in the Bundesliga beyond those opening two wins.
Vincent Wagner and Manuel Baum meet for the first time here, with Wagner having taken charge of Elversberg on 1 July 2025 replacing Horst Steffen and Baum appointed permanently in May 2026 after an interim spell that began in December 2025 when he replaced Sandro Wagner.
Elversberg's results read W-W-L-D-L. They opened their Bundesliga campaign with a 3-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen and followed up with a 4-3 thriller against Borussia Mönchengladbach but a 1-2 defeat to Bayern Munich, a goalless draw with Schalke 04 and a 0-1 loss to Union Berlin have illustrated exactly how fine the margins are at this level. Augsburg have gone D-L-D-W-W and their 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich on 10 October showed they are capable of holding their own against anyone in the division.
Wagner is without Luis Seifert (ankle/syndesmosis), Francis Onyeka (foot) and Cole Campbell (knock), three players who would normally be central to the defensive and midfield shape. Their combined absence is a real headache going into a game Elversberg need to win. Baum has problems of his own: Jeffrey Gouweleeuw is out with a knee issue, Finn Dahmen misses the game with a muscle problem and Tim Breithaupt is absent with a toe injury. Losing Gouweleeuw hurts the back line's leadership, while Dahmen's absence forces a change in goal.
Elversberg typically operate in a 4-2-3-1 built around quick transitions and high energy pressing. Without Seifert and Onyeka, Wagner's remaining midfielders will need to cover more ground to screen the defence, risking gaps that Augsburg's counter attack can exploit. Felix Keidel's recent international call up adds quality in the middle, while Maurice Krattenmacher and Lukas Petkov will carry most of the creative responsibility further forward.
Augsburg under Baum favour a 3-4-2-1 that hits teams on the counter and with Gouweleeuw and Breithaupt absent the back line will need to find cohesion quickly. Robin Fellhauer, Michael Gregoritsch and Fabian Rieder will give an already stretched Elversberg backline three different problems to solve, with Fellhauer's pace in particular a genuine worry for the hosts' full backs. With Seifert and Onyeka out, Elversberg's midfield cover is thin: if Augsburg's press forces errors in the middle of the park, they won't need many chances to win this.
The clubs have no Bundesliga history between them, their only previous meeting being Augsburg's 3-1 win over Elversberg in the 2015 DFB Pokal.
Losing three key players will likely blunt the fluency Elversberg showed earlier in the season and Augsburg's display against Bayern Munich suggests they are well equipped to absorb pressure and hit back on the counter.
Augsburg to win 2-1. Elversberg will come out hard, pushing Krattenmacher and Petkov forward early but the absence of Seifert, Onyeka and Campbell will make sustaining that pressure for 90 minutes difficult. Augsburg's squad has more depth even with their own absentees and Gregoritsch or Fellhauer looks likely to punish whatever space opens up. Elversberg may well get a goal from a set piece or a moment of Petkov quality but the visitors' shape and pace on the break, particularly if Fellhauer gets in behind, should be enough to win this.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
