Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen: Lineups, team news, injuries, and more! (Updated)

Only two more Bundesliga games remain before Bayern Munich take a break for the season, as this horribly mistimed FIFA World Cup wreaks havoc on European footballing schedules. With no option but to rotate a depleted squad, Julian Nagelsmann must navigate this upcoming game against Werder Bremen while remaining ahead of Union Berlin in the table. It’s not gonna be easy.

Team news

Matthijs de Ligt, Thomas Muller, and Josip Stanisic are all out of this game for one reason or another, while Alphonso Davies sits out due to the hamstring injury he got vs Hertha Berlin. It’s good that Lucas Hernandez is an option again, because otherwise, Bayern would not have a single fit left-back available for this match.

For a proper preview of the game, you should check out the second half of our latest podcast episode, which also comes with a reaction to the Champions League draw vs PSG. Listen to it below or on Spotify:

In short, the expected lineup will probably have some combination of Choupo-Moting, Sadio Mane, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman, or Serge Gnabry in attack. Let’s assume it’ll be Gnabry chosen over Sane and Coman, for simplicity’s sake. It would mean that Nagelsmann repeats his starting XI from the Hertha Berlin game, but Sane and Coman may not be fit enough to start a game yet. They would be good options off the bench.

The midfield will probably be manned by Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka, unless Nagelsmann wants to rotate and put Sabitzer there for a change. That seems unlikely, as the game vs Schalke on the weekend seems like a better opportunity for rotation, but you never know how the players may be feeling with the World Cup coming up. Goretzka himself will want to take it a little easy, since he has been prone to injuries these last few seasons.

In defense, Lucas Hernandez is the only fit left-back available to Bayern, so he will start in place of Davies. Dayot Upamecano is apparently struggling with a knock, but Nagelsmann didn’t indicate that it’s too serious so he should be able to pair up with Benjamin Pavard at center-back. That leaves Noussair Mazraoui for the right-back spot and Manuel Neuer in goal.

Here’s what that XI could look like:

Update

Here’s what Bild thinks the lineup will be: