A little note from loyal reader, Luke:
And so, it's Bayern vs. Energie Cottbus, or as the Sorbs would say "Chosebuz". It's hard to find much optimistic data for Cottbus supporters. FC Energie have never won in Munich, and have managed only 2 goals all time in Munich. So I challenged myself to go inside the numbers, to find some reason for we Bayern supporters to be concerned.
A few key statistics show that while Energie doesn't look likely to get out of the cellar, they have shown improvement over the last 3 matches, since switiching to a base 4-4-2 formation. In fact, in the 3 matches prior to the switch, Energie averaged 9.3 shots per match and only 34% ball possession. Not the stuff of champions. In the 3 matches since, however, those numbers have shifted upward to 13.6 shots and 43% possession on average. Numbers like that will give most teams a fighting chance, and indeed, Energie was able to pull to victory over Karlsruhe. Perhaps Energie will be a bit less intimidated, considering they handled Bayern's last visit in the spring quite well, dealing a distracted Bayern side a 2-0 defeat.
Are you scared yet? I didn't think so. Bayern can afford to rest Ribery and Lucio (please rest Lucio!), and maybe it wouldn't be so bad to give Kroos a start, and let him work his magic, as he did in last season's match against in Munich vs FC Energie. Overall, I think we can expect a match similar to the Bielefeld match in overall pace, with hopefully some lessons learned about finishing brought forward into this match from that one.
Thanks Luke!