AFC Bournemouth’s second pre-season game brings them to Augsburg, and it comes with the German club entering the 2026/27 Bundesliga season under a permanent head coach. Manuel Baum has been handed a contract until 2028 after steering Augsburg back into shape following a difficult opening stretch last season.
That is why the matchup matters now for Bournemouth. They are not just facing a warm-up opponent; they are meeting a side that finished ninth last season, then collected 28 points in the second half of the campaign after Baum returned to the dugout in December and quickly changed the mood. Augsburg are expected to aim for another top ten finish, and they have done so without making much noise in the transfer market so far.
The numbers explain the revival. Finn Dahmen put together an outstanding campaign, while Augsburg were sharper and harder to play against once Baum was back on the touchline. They still lacked punch at the other end, though. No Augsburg player reached double figures for goals, and Anton Kade, Michael Gregoritsch and Fabian Rieder shared the team lead with six each. That is the sort of imbalance Bournemouth can exploit if they are sharp enough in transition.
There is a clear contrast in the way Augsburg want to play and the way they ended last season. They improved enough to climb into the top half, but not enough to hide the fact that their attack remained limited. The club’s answer has been stability: Baum stays, the contract runs to 2028, and the brief appears to be consolidation rather than overhaul. Bournemouth’s game therefore offers an early read on how far that recovery has carried, and whether Augsburg still need more help before the window closes.
For Bournemouth, the test is less about the result than about the pattern. Augsburg are likely to let opponents have the ball and look for damage through direct counter attacks, which means any loose possession could turn quickly. That makes the fixture a useful measure of Bournemouth’s control under pressure, and a reminder that Augsburg, even without a major rebuild, are already behaving like a team that expects another serious top-half push.
