FC Augsburg vs Bayern Munich: Lineups, team news, injuries, and more! (Updated)

In the last two years, Bayern Munich have won the Champions League final more times than the DFB Pokal 2nd round. Both Hansi Flick and Julian Nagelsmann have failed to advance from this stage of of the competition, meaning that the last coach to actually win one of these games was Niko Kovac vs VfL Bochum in 2019. This is an absurd stat for a team of Bayern’s caliber, and surely it cannot continue for a third year running.

Surely, right?

Well maybe not. FC Augsburg have already beaten Nagelsmann’s boys once this season, and the upcoming game is set to be played with the specter of injuries hanging over the team. To be perfectly honest the last two eliminations came as a shock. This time, things look a lot more even between the two sides.

Team news

Lots and lots of bad news. Leroy Sane joins the list of absentees, having suffered a hamstring injury in the game against SC Freiburg. Noussair Mazraoui is suffering from muscular issues and is a doubt for the game, while Manuel Neuer has been ruled out due to shoulder pain. Lucas Hernandez remains sidelined for the time being, but Thomas Muller is at least available — though not fit enough to start.

Given all the injuries, the lineup is at least easy to predict. Nagelsmann confirmed that Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting would be starting up top, so we can assume it’ll be a standard 4-2-3-1 with Jamal Musiala, Sadio Mane, and Serge Gnabry playing behind him. In the absence of Muller and Sane, Musiala’s role will be key to breaking through the dogged Augsburg defense. It’s a tough task for a 19-year-old who’s just returning to the starting XI after Covid, but the coach doesn’t really have much of a choice. If more firepower is needed, Muller, Coman, and Tel can be options from the bench.

In midfield, Joshua Kimmich will likely start with Leon Goretzka next to him in a pivot. Goretzka’s recent goalscoring form has been tremendous, which is probably why he will get the nod over Marcel Sabitzer and Ryan Gravenberch.

In defense, don’t expect any significant changes. Benjamin Pavard should come in for the injured Noussair Mazraoui, but other than that Alphonso Davies, Matthijs de Ligt, and Dayot Upamecano should all reprise their roles from the Freiburg game. Sven Ulreich, meanwhile, will be in goal in place of Manuel Neuer.

Here’s what the lineup should look like:

Update

Here's how Tz thinks it'll look. They don’t have Musiala in their lineup. Meanwhile Augsburg keeper Rafael Gikiewicz has been ruled out with injury.

Interested in more Bayern Munich content? Check out our detailed Augsburg preview along with analysis of the win over SC Freiburg and a major question about Robert Lewandowski in the latest episode of our podcast. Listen to it below or on Spotify.

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