Union Berlin vs Bayern Munich: Lineups, team news, recovering from a disaster, and more! (Updated)

Five goals. FIVE GOALS. Is this how fans of other teams feel? Just FYI, this article is being written less than 24 hours after the Gladbassacre so excuse me if it’s a little bit depressing. In all my time as a Bayern Munich fan, I’ve never seen the team capitulate like that. But the games just won’t stop coming, so Nagelsmann and the boys need to buckle up and prove that it was a one-off.

Team news

Leon Goretzka is a doubt for the Union Berlin game after being subbed off against Gladbach with an apparent injury. He and Sven Ulreich are the only potential absentees from a Bayern perspective. Coach Julian Nagelsmann still can’t make it to the sidelines on Saturday, so it’ll be Dino Toppmoller on the bench once again. Kingsley Coman also left training today after just 28 minutes, which is probably not a good sign.

So how about that lineup? Honestly, don’t expect any changes that aren’t injury related. Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller will both be raring to go, while Serge Gnabry was specifically subbed off early against Gladbach to preserve his stamina for the upcoming Union game (by that point, the game was already lost). Leroy Sane will likely start on the left, and he’ll need to show a better performance than he did against the Foals — all of the players will, to be fair.

In midfield, Marcel Sabitzer will likely pair up with Joshua Kimmich, who was unusually subdued and lacking in energy vs BMG. Reports out of Germany say that the reaction to his vaccination decision has left the player rather disturbed, and it could be affecting his on-pitch performances. Then again, literally everyone was off their game in midweek, so maybe it was just a one-off. We’ll see on Saturday.

The defense ... oh boy. I’d like to say that Dayot Upamecano probably should be benched, just because of how awful he was against BMG. However, you have to worry about what benching him might do to his confidence — remember that Upa is just 23 years old. Maybe Nagelsmann will opt for a more conservative pairing with Niklas Sule next to Upamecano and Alphonso Davies and Benjamin Pavard at fullback. Or maybe he’ll go for full rotation and finally allow Tanguy Nianzou to start a game. Who knows? Let’s go with the conservative option for now.

That just leaves Manuel Neuer in goal. Here’s what the lineup should look like:

Update

Here's what Bild thinks about the lineup:

ICYMI: Bavarian Podcast Works: Preview Show — Union Berlin vs Bayern Munich (Hinrunde)

Why not check out our podcast preview for the game? Here’s what we have in store:

• A look at the form of both squads.
• A look at how Bayern Munich can get back on track.
• A guess at Bayern Munich’s potential lineup.
• A prediction on the match.

Thanks for listening!