Weekend Warm-up: Should Bayern Munich go full Leeroy Jenkins (!?) with its defense next season or is there another option?; Getting psyched for Obi-Wan Kenobi; Bundesliga predictions; Throwing it back to The Pogues; and MORE!

The transfer market is not getting any easier to work through for Bayern Munich as the club seeks to replace Niklas Süle.

Options — especially good ones — are very limited considering that the Bavarians are eyeing mostly free transfers or younger players who might not command a hefty transfer fee.

Going dumpster diving to find a quality center-back is not a fun nor productive task. So, what does Bayern Munich do to solve this hole in their backline?

Maybe....nothing?

That’s right, 2022/23 could be the time for Julian Nagelsmann to look at his roster, check his options, and just yell...”LEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYY JENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKKKKKKINNNNNNNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSSS!”

Naglesmann could have to roll with Lucas Hernandez, Benjamin Pavard, and Dayot Upamecano as three starting center-backs next season and that just might be the way it has to be.

Before anyone starts firing up their torches and grabbing their pitchforks, I’m not saying this is what I want, but I am actually starting to get a little more comfortable with the idea (maybe because I’m mentally beaten into submission).

Let’s take a brief look at some of the rumored options:

• Matthias Ginter, Borussia Mönchengladbach: Free, experienced, and versatile...you could do worse — but this will not excite the fan base.
• Gleison Bremer, Torino: Young, full of potential, but without the requisite big stage background that Bayern Munich would typically need to see, this seems like a big reach (and he is rumored to be headed to Inter Milan anyway).
• Matthijs de Ligt, Juventus: Too expensive for a club worried about finances.
• Nico Schlotterbeck, SC Freiburg: Young and also a Germany international, Schlotterbeck will cost a fee, though not a crazy one. I’d think very hard about Schlotterbeck if I was Bayern Munich.
• Chris Richards, Bayern Munich (on loan to Hoffenheim): Yes, yes, and yes. I’m willing to roll with Richards as the fourth center-back who can compliment the “Leeroy Jenkins Trio” of Pavard, Hernandez, and Upamecano.
• Tanguy Nianzou, Bayern Munich: Looks like he’s not ready for prime time and needs a loan assignment to gain valuable experience.

According to Sport Bild journalists Christian Falk and Tobi Altschäffl, however, there could be a familiar name back in play for Bayern Munich: Antonio Rüdiger.

Rüdiger’s high salary demands thwarted the last round of discussions between the Germany international and the Bavarians, but things have changed recently. First, Bayern Munich’s Plan A — Andreas Christensen — looks close to signing a deal with FC Barcelona. Second, the recent mess surrounding Chelsea and its ownership has pushed the German defender back into play for Bayern Munich.

What do you think?

---

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 1, Episode 40

Bayern Munich’s week was filled with craziness. A lackluster effort against Bayer Leverkusen was followed by a thoroughly dominant win over Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League.

The news for the club followed a similar up-and-down pattern. The word on injuries was great, but the transfer news was...surprising. Here is what we have on tap to discuss this week:

• The bad break that Bayern Munich’s Plan A in the transfer looks like it has failed: Chelsea center-back looks like he’ll sign with FC Barcelona.
• The Plan B options are not necessarily going to excite many fans as Gleison Bremer and Matthias Ginter could be the next men up.
• It seems like Bayern Munich has some squad planning and budget issues that are weighing on the folks at Säbener Straße.
• The tricky situation surrounding Robert Lewandowski.
• Why thew rumored replacements for Lewandowski probably won’t come to fruition.

---

Song of the Week: “The Body of an American” by The Pogues

Released in 1986, this classic from The Pogues just always hits.

Every...single...time.

Enjoy it:

Of course, the song gained a new life after being featured in The Wire (language is NSFW):

---

Obi-Wan Kenobi looks fantastic

While The Mandalorian has been widely-lauded as a success, The Book of Bobba Fett was met with mixed reviews (I liked it), and now Disney is ready to pump out the series most anticipated by Stars Wars fans: Obi-Wan Kenobi.

With Ewan McGregor reprising his role from the prequels, the series appears to follow Obi-Wan as he goes in hiding, while simultaneously trying to keep Luke Skywalker safe from afar.

From the trailer, we can see that the Empire is hunting Jedi and trying to eliminate the warriors from the universe:

For me — aside of one-ff releases like Rogue One and Solo — the prequels and sequels have failed to hit the mark for one reason or another. The sequels were especially disappointing to me because there was ample time to see the failures of the prequels, develop an iron clad storyline, build characters around that story, and make things great.

That did not happen.

Star Wars, however, is reviving the franchise’s reputation with its work on its streaming shows. A lot hinges on Ob-Wan Kenobi, though. For as much I might have been okay with The Book of Bobba Fett, there were plenty of other people who panned it (looking at you Das Lynch!).

If Disney misses the mark with this McGregor-led limited series, it won’t be pretty online or on social media for the Mouse.

---

Bavarian Podcast Works: Preview Show — Bayern Munich vs. Hoffenheim (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich shook off a disappointing draw with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga last weekend by throttling Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League.

Next up is a very good Hoffenheim squad, led by former Bayern Munich II boss Sebastian Hoeneß. Hoffenheim, of course, also features Bayern Munich loanee Chris Richards. The Alabama native is battling a foot injury and will not play, but the USMNT defender has made the most of his loan assignment.

Here is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A look at where both teams sit in the Bundesliga table.
• A show of respect for what Hoffenheim has done this season.
• A look at why Bayern Munich might look to sell Richards despite his great progress.
• A somewhat educated guess at how Bayern Munich might align itself this weekend.
• A probably not educated prediction on the match.

---

Predictions

After a 7-1 throttling of Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League, there is a serious threat of a letdown in this match for Bayern Munich. Hoffenheim has been a pleasant surprise and will absolutely present a challenge — but it will be a big task for Sebastian Hoeneß to see his squad take down the Bavarians even if they could potentially be a little distracted.

Bayern Munich should be able to take care of business here. Hopefully the Rekordmeister’s offensive spacing and tenacity will be at the same level as they were against Salzburg. The thinking here is that things could start a little slow, but eventually Bayern Munich should be able to regroup and capture three points.

Prediction: Hoffenheim 0-3 Bayern Munich

Other Bundesliga predictions include:

• FC Augsburg 1-0 Mainz 05
• SC Freiburg 2-1 Wolfsburg
• Union Berlin 2-2 VfB Stuttgart
• Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 Hertha Berlin
• Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 FC Köln
• Borussia Dortmund 3-1 Arminia Bielefeld
• Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 VfL Bochum
• SpVgg Greuther Fürth 1 -3 RB Leipzig

---

Prediction Records

Ignore that record from last week (I am awful).

Last Bundesliga Match Day record: 2-5*

Overall Bundesliga record: 117-107

DFB-Pokal record: 1-1

DFL-Supercup record: 1-0

Champions League record: 7-1

Overall record: 126-109

*The match between Borussia Dortmund and Mainz was postponed due to a COVID outbreak.