With the international break over, Bayern Munich emerge with some serious problems bubbling under the surface. The Augsburg game is practically a backdrop at this point, as waves of controversy buffet the club from all corners. Add to this a plethora of minor injuries and absentees, plus the weird Friday night timing, and this game is shaping up to be a potential stumbling block for Julian Nagelsmann.

Well, no one ever said this was going to be easy.

Team news

The news isn’t great. While Jamal Musiala, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, and Serge Gnabry have all returned to team training, Josip Stanisic and Niklas Sule remain in quarantine due to positive Covid-19 tests. Meanwhile, Joshua Kimmich awaits the result of a contact who maybe have been infected, so he is in precautionary isolation and will miss the game tomorrow. More details on that here.

Injury-wise, Kingsley Coman has some muscular discomfort which basically rules him out of the starting XI, while Alphonso Davies is unlikely to start so soon after returning from frozen wasteland that is Canada. It’s not all bad news though — Leon Goretzka is back in action and should be able to play.

So, what will the lineup look like? Well, expect Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller to start up top, with Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry as the most likely candidates on the wing. 18-year-old Jamal Musiala, who has found starts really hard to come by as of late, might need to wait a bit longer due to his extended absence from training (because of isolation measures). He should at least see some action as a substitute.

In midfield, Marcel Sabitzer is the likely candidate to pair Leon Goretzka in Kimmich’s absence. After all, this is what he was brought in to do. The Austrian comes into this game following a pair of good performances with his National Team including a goal against Israel, so let’s hope his spirits are high.

In defense, Omar Richards is likely to come in for Alphonso Davies at left-back, while Benjamin Pavard slots in at right-back. Lucas Hernandez and Dayot Upamecano are the most likely center-back pairing, but there’s an outside chance that Tanguy Nianzou could get a start given that Augsburg are in relegation form at the moment.

Manuel Neuer, as usual, will don the captain’s armband. So, here’s what that lineup should look like:

Update

Kimmich remains doubtful for the game. No word on the PCR test results.

Update #2

Looks like Kimmich has to quarantine again. Another week of no games for him.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Preview Show — Augsburg vs Bayern Munich (Hinrunde)

As always, we did a preview podcast for this game! Here’s are the talking points that were discussed:

• A recap of the international break and how Bayern players fared.
• The form of Bayern and Augsburg heading into the fixture.
• Bayern Munich’s injury situation.
• Key players and predicted lineups.
• A final scoreline prediction.

As always, thanks for listening!