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Choupo-Moting picked the worst part of the season to get injured.
After being practically eliminated from the Champions League already, Bayern Munich are under pressure to win every remaining game and come out on top in the Bundesliga. Hoffenheim are a team that tend to take points off Bayern even in the best of days, so Thomas Tuchel has to be wary of sending his boys out there without some kind of a plan. It’s three points or bust right now.
After rejoining training in the middle of the week, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has had to withdraw from the team once again due to injury. The striker will therefore be unavailable for selection for the third game running, putting all of Bayern’s plans in jeopardy. Mathys Tel isn’t fit enough to play more than 20-30 minutes according to the coach, so we’re going to have to deal with another game of no set striker.
Sadio Mane is suspended following his altercation with Leroy Sane, so he’s out of the game. That leaves Thomas Muller, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman, and Serge Gnabry for the four attacking spots. Tuchel admitted that Gnabry was practically useless in the Manchester City game — he lost too many balls under pressure and made far too many mistakes — this probably means that Bayern’s #7 will not get another start. Perhaps Thomas Muller will return to the XI in his stead.
In midfield, Ryan Gravenberch is apparently still not ready for a start, so he’ll be sidelined again in favor of Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka. Thomas Tuchel needs to have a word with his star duo, because their play was truly woeful vs Man City. Given that Bayern have no other midfielders right now, the coach really needs his starters to bring their A-game.
The defense is interesting, because there’s a chance that Tuchel may field a more offense-heavy setup to practice overturning a 3-0 deficit vs City. That could mean a backline with Alphonso Davies and Joao Cancelo as the fullbacks, with Dayot Upamecano and Matthijs de Ligt as the center-backs. Yes, expect Upa to get another chance after his midweek mistake.
Yann Sommer should complete the starting XI. Here’s what it could look like:
Here is Bild’s predicted starting XI:
Bayern’s predicted XI against Hoffenheim, according to @BILD:
Sommer – Pavard, Upamecano, de Ligt, Davies – Kimmich, Goretzka – Sané, Müller, Musiala – Gnabry
Interested in a more in-depth preview of the game? Then check out our Weekend Warm-up podcast! Chuck previews Hoffenheim, talks about Mane’s fight with Sane, the striker links, and more! Listen to it below or on Spotify.
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