How will Bayern Munich line up against Freiburg? UPDATE: Alaba out!

The international break is over and Bayern Munich can finally return to action, Up next is a game against SC Freiburg, the Bundesliga regulars who drew with us 1-1 in the Hinrunde. Niko Kovac is right when he says they’re not an easy team to face at home, so what does he fave planned to topple them?

Team News

In his press conference, the coach confirmed that only two players were missing for the game — Arjen Robben (nobody knows what his injury is at this point) and Alphonso Davies (strained ligament from the knee-slide celebration two weeks ago). That means that Corentin Tolisso is finally available for selection, having made an allegedly full recovery from his ACL injury.

He might be needed sooner than expected. David Alaba, Joshua Kimmich, and Thiago Alcantara are all on 4 yellow card, and getting a fifth would mean missing the next league game — the Klassiker against Borussia Dortmund. Not ideal, but there’s nothing that can be done at this point.

Let’s think about the lineup. Robert Lewandowski will start up top, likely flanked by a duo of Franck Ribery and Serge Gnabry. James Rodriguez did a lot of travelling over the break and returned later than the other players, so it’s likely that he will be rested and Thomas Muller will start behind the striker.

In midfield, we might see a pairing of Leon Goretzka and Javi Martinez, to keep Thiago from getting a yellow card. We’ll need our maestro against Axel Witsel next week. Renato Sanches and Corentin Tolisso might get a few minutes as a substitute.

In defense, we might see Rafinha come in for David Alaba, because he missed Austria’s last game with muscular problems. Unfortunately, the team only has one backup fullback so we can’t rest Joshua Kimmich as well. Mats Hummels and Niklas Sule will probably be the starters in central defense.

Here’s how we think Bayern may line up:

UPDATE: David Alaba potentially out

According to Bild, David Alaba’s ongoing muscular problems will prevent him from taking part in tomorrow’s match. Bild tweets:

According to our information, David Alaba will not be in the squad tomorrow. #SCFFCB #FCBayern

Bayern’s ever-ready backup Rafinha will presumably play at left-back in Alaba’s absence.