Thirteenth placed Augsburg play host to ninth placed Bayer Leverkusen tomorrow evening in a match that has the same chance of ending up a goal fest as it does a 0-0 bore draw.
Whilst the hosts have the third lowest goal tally in the Bundesliga with just 18, the visitors are one of only five teams to have scored over 30 at this stage of the season which means that it is anyone's guess as to how entertaining tomorrow's match will pan out for spectators.
Augsburg's defence responsible for keeping them out of trouble
Whilst their attack may not have been as lethal as fans would like in front of goal this season, it is Augsburg's ability to keep their opponents away from goal that has kept them out of major trouble.
Goalkeeper Marwin Hitz has kept six league clean sheets so far this season, a stat which is the joint third highest in the league along with RB Leipzig's Peter Gulacsi and Schalke's Ralf Fahrmann.
Since the winter break Manuel Baum's side have enjoyed mixed form both home and away. Victories away at Wolfsburg and at home to Werder Bremen were sandwiched between defeats to high-flying Hoffenheim and Mainz 05 in their last fixture.
The fact that joint top scorers Halil Altintop and Ji Dong-Won have just three goals to their name in the league this season tells you why Augsburg are lying in the bottom half of the table, but a win tomorrow would take them level with Leverkusen.
Europa League not yet out of the question for Leverkusen
Not even the most die-hard Bayer 04 fan can deny that it has been a poor season for the club, who currently lie six places below last season's third placed finish which leaves their Champions League hopes in tatters unless they provide a shock by winning the competition.
Their progression to the round of 16 is a rare bright light in what has been a relatively dark season so far, but they could salvage something if they manage to close the six point gap to sixth placed Hertha Berlin before the season ends.
For that to happen they will need their talisman Javier Hernandez to be on top form in the second half of the campaign. The Mexican has eight goals and two assists to his name in the league and is their top scorer, followed by Hakan Calhanoglu who is now of course banned for four months following a contract breach back in 2011 whilst at Karlsruhe.
Leverkusen have also enjoyed mixed form since the end of the winter break, winning two and losing two. Their two victories came at home to top six sides Hertha Berlin and Eintracht Frankfurt whilst they suffered a disappointing away defeat to Hamburg which was preceded by a 3-2 loss at home to Borussia Monchengladbach.
Team news
The hosts have a few injury problems ahead of tomorrow evening, with Caiuby and Alfred Finnbogason both confirmed as being unvailable for the match. Full-back Konstantinos Stafylidis is unlikely to return to the squad after suffering from an infection.
Bayer 04 are without Calhanoglu who has been banned for four months as aforementioned, whilst Jonathan Tah is out due to injury. Aleksandr Dragovic returns to the squad following injury and could take the place of the suspended Omer Toprak.
Predicted line-ups
FC Augsburg (4-1-4-1): Hitz; Verhaegh, Hinteregger, Gouweleeuw, Max; Baier; Schmid, Altintop, Koo, Ji; Bobadilla.
Bayer Leverkusen (4-4-2): Leno; Henrichs, Jedvaj, Dragovic, Wendell; Bellarabi, Bender, Kampl, Brandt; Havertz, Hernandez.