How will Bayern Munich line up against SV Rodinghausen in the DFB-Pokal?

It’s time for that competition people sometimes forget — the DFB Pokal. Fresh off a game against Mainz, Bayern Munich will be hosted by Regionalliga side SV Rodinghausen in the second round of Germany’s premier cup competition. Niko Kovac says he’s not underestimating anyone. So, what can we expect?

Team News

Buckle up for this one because Bayern Munich could be missing up to EIGHT players for this game. Let’s go one by one. Players confirmed to be out:

• Kingsley Coman (ankle injury)
• Corentin Tolisso (ACL tear)
• Jerome Boateng (upset stomach)
• James Rodriguez (cold)
• Sven Ulreich (family reasons — i.e. his wife is having a baby)
• Arjen Robben (neuromuscular blockade)

Players who are doubtful include:

• Mats Hummels (adductor injury)
• Leon Goretzka (ankle injury)

In addition, Kovac said that he could rest three players tomorrow — Joshua Kimmich, Robert Lewandowski, and Thiago Alcantara. Kimmich is the player who needs this rest the most, because he’s played literally every single minute since the season started. Rafinha is a more than suitable backup for the youngster, so there shouldn’t be any problems there.

In midfield, the question of who starts becomes much trickier to answer. It will be hard for Kovac to rest Thiago when both Tolisso and Goretzka are injured, as it would leave only Sanches and Javi Martinez as the remaining midfielders. Javi’s services might be needed at center back, so it’s likely that we’ll see either a Sanches-Thiago or a Sanches-Goretzka midfield tomorrow.

In defense, Niklas Sule and David Alaba are sure to start, with the question of who will fill in for Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels up in the air. Javi Martinez seems like a likely pick, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see someone from the B-team being given a chance.

Finally, in attack we should see Thomas Muller, Serge Gnabry, Franck Ribery, and Sandro Wagner (or Robert Lewandowski if Kovac doesn’t want to rotate). Because of our injuries, this part of the lineup picks itself.

Without further ado, here are our predictions for Bayern’s lineup against Rodinghausen:

Yes, we all predicted the same thing.