Thomas Tuchel will expect a response from his players as Bayern Munich look to bounce back from their DFB Pokal defeat against Freiburg, the same opposition they face on Saturday afternoon in the Bundesliga.
Bayern Munich will be without two players that featured in that defeat. Tuchel has confirmed that Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting is sidelined with a knee injury and is also a doubt for the Champions League game against Manchester City in midweek, whilst Dayot Upamecano is suspended after accumulating five yellow cards.
That means we can expect to see Benjamin Pavard partner Matthijs de Ligt in central-defence but the biggest problem for Tuchel is in attack.
Kicker suggests that Thomas Müller will operate as Bayern’s No. 9 in the absence of Choupo-Moting. Saturday’s game against Freiburg is likely to come too soon for Mathys Tel, but another option for Tuchel would be to play Serge Gnabry, who’s played that position previously.
Jamal Musiala is also an option to start for Bayern Munich after a recent injury kept him out of Hansi Flick’s latest Germany squad – he managed 26 minutes against Freiburg in midweek. With 15 goals and 12 assists in 37 games across all competitions for Bayern Munich this season, Musiala is an integral cog in the Rekordmeister’s plans.
Predicted Bayern Munich XI vs Freiburg (via Kicker)
Yann Sommer – Joao Cancelo, Benjamin Pavard, Matthijs de Ligt, Alphonso Davies – Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka – Kingsley Coman, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané – Thomas Müller.
GGFN | Daniel Pinder
