Germany vs Liechtenstein: Lineups, team news, dealing with Covid absentees, and more! (Updated)

The international break is here, and former Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick will have to depend on someone other than his usual go-to names for a change, because a bunch of players are either injured or in quarantine this week. Luckily, qualification is already ensured, so the coach can try something new against Liechtenstein without worrying about the consequences.

Team news

In case you haven’t been following along with reports, here’s a quick rundown of who’s out for Germany this week:

• Niklas Sule is in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.
• Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala, and Karim Adeyemi are all in self-isolation due to being in close contact with Sule.
• Chelsea players Timo Werner and Kai Havertz are out due to an injury and suspension respectively.
• Nico Schlotterbeck, Florian Wirtz, and Julian Draxler also join the injury list.
• Robin Gosens, and Mats Hummels were all left out of the callup list this time, to allow them to focus on their respective injuries/fatigue.

It’s a good thing that Flick called up so many players, because that’s a looooooooong list of absentees. Germany still have the talent to take on Liechtenstein, so here’s what the lineup could look like.

Lukas Nmecha may get his first start at striker, with Thomas Muller starting behind him in a 4-2-3-1. Leroy Sane and Marco Reus are the best candidates to start on the flanks, given all the injuries and quarantine absences at the winger position.

In midfield, Joshua Kimmich gets a rest for once, something he’ll probably be fuming about. For Bayern fans it’s a relief — so long as he doesn’t get the virus himself, he can finally take a week off and recover from all the minutes of football he’s been playing. Leon Goretzka will senior player in midfield, likely paired with Gladbach’s Florian Neuhaus. Wolfsburg’s Maxi Arnold is another option, but less likely to start since he wasn’t on the original callup list.

In defense, David Raum is likely to start at left-back with Jonas Hofmann probably reprising his unconventional role as Germany’s right-back. Antonio Rudiger and Matthias Ginter would be the best choice of center-backs at Flick’s disposal, given the absence of Sule. Manuel Neuer, meanwhile, is expected in goal.

Here’s how that XI should look like:

Update

Here’s kicker’s predicted lineup for the game: