Holstein Kiel vs FC Augsburg Prediction: Augsburg to take all three points

In the final match of the calendar year, which will take place on Saturday afternoon at Holstein-Stadion, Holstein Kiel will play host to Augsburg. With 11 losses in the first 14 rounds of the Bundesliga tournament, the home team is currently in second place, which is the lowest possible position in the rankings. Keeping the top-flight position for more than a year will be a very challenging job for Marcel Rapp and his team to accomplish.

In recent weeks, they have been in a state of performance that is quite terrible. For the past five games in a row, Kiel has been defeated, and in all but one of these losses, they have allowed at least three goals to be scored against them. They were defeated by Borussia Monchengladbach by a score of 1-4 seven days ago, which once again exposed the weaknesses in their defensive play.

In the Bundesliga table, Augsburg is currently 11 points ahead of Kiel; nevertheless, the team is struggling with their performance while they are away from home. To this point in the season, Augsburg has performed far better at home than they have on the road. 

Regardless of the outcome of their match against Augsburg on Saturday, Kiel is aware that they will conclude the 2024 season in the bottom two rankings. They will be eager to close the five-point deficit that separates them from the relegation playoff spot, despite the fact that they are currently in the red. It is possible that this is simpler to say than it is to do, particularly considering that Kiel has been defeated in each of their past five matches since they defeated Heidenheim on November 2. Following that victory, they suffered setbacks at the hands of Werder Bremen, Mainz, St. Pauli, and RB Leipzig. Finally, they were defeated by Borussia Monchengladbach in a hand-to-hand match that took place over the weekend.

As of right now, Kiel has finished with the worst defensive record in the division, having allowed 37 goals in a total of 14 league matches. In the event that they face the fifth-lowest scoring team in the Bundesliga, they will be hoping that this encounter will provide them with the opportunity to put on a solid defensive performance.

After winning only one of their past six matches in the Bundesliga, Augsburg is currently enduring a terrible run of form despite its recent success. Before suffering a crushing loss to Bayern Munich by a score of 3-0, they played to draws against Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim at the beginning of the season. After a brief setback, the Augsburg were able to recover with a victory over Bochum, a team from the lower division, by a score of 1-0 at home. The two games they played against Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen were both difficult, but they were unable to follow that up with another victory during both matches. The team coached by Jess Thorup played die Adler to a 2-2 draw before suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Bundesliga champions against whom they were playing at home.

As a consequence of their lacklustre performance, the Fuggerstadter will enter the weekend in the thirteenth position, with six points separating them from the three teams that are now in the first three spots. On Saturday, they will be hoping to widen that advantage in order to achieve their goal of finishing the year with a successful performance. Unfortunately for Augsburg, they have a difficult time accumulating points away from home, as seen by the fact that they have not won any of their ten league matches played away from home (drawn two, lost eight). As a consequence of this, they are going into the weekend with the goal of achieving a victory away from home in the Bundesliga for the first time since March 2023.

In 14 matches, Kiel has allowed 37 goals to be scored, making them the team with the worst defensive record in the division. Even against Monchengladbach, which took place over the weekend, they performed terribly. 

Augsburg triumphed against Holstein Kiel in the sole prior head-to-head matchup, which took place five years ago in the DFB Pokal and was played away from Augsburg's home stadium.

Considering the difficulties that Kiel is experiencing defensively, I think that it is worth betting on a win for Augsburg.