Bayern Munich’s Julian Nagelsmann assessing squad injuries, opponent’s strengths ahead of Arminia Bielefeld match

Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann might have to plan his lineup without stars Kingsley Coman, Lucas Hernandez, and Niklas Süle against Arminia Bielefeld.

“Lucas and King have muscular problems. That’s why Lucas was subbed off against Villarreal, he couldn’t continue. I don’t expect them to be available on Sunday. But we’ll wait and make a decision tomorrow. There’s more hope with Lucas than with King,” Nagelsmann said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “Niki is still ill and won’t be available Sunday. Coco is out as well. Bouna has resumed training and would be an option for Bielefeld.”

While that info is certainly not promising, Nagelsmann does like what he has seen from both Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry of late.

“Leroy was very committed (against Villarreal), especially in the first half he took a lot of crosses. I was very happy with him. In general, I’m happy with Serge and Leroy. Leroy had a small drop in performance, but fought his way out of it,” Nagelsmann said. “Serge also played a lot of good games, the contract talks are certainly in his mind. He’s very reflective. That’s human. I’m happy with both of them and I’m sure they’ll bring their best performance back to the pitch.”

As for Arminia Bielefeld, Nagelsmann expects his opponents to try and avoid Bayern Munich high-intensity press.

“They usually bypass the pressing through long balls by Ortega, they go a lot into tackles. They defend very well and are compact. Of course we want to win that, that’s obvious. I’ll look at things with the analysts and then we’ll come up with a plan,” Nagelsmann said.

Should Bayern Munich get three points in this match, it will go a long way in helping ensure the club gets a non-DFL Supercup trophy this season. Nagelsmann is enthused about that prospect.

“I want to be champion, then I want to do better next year. If someone likes me, then they should like me because I’m Julian Nagelsmann and not because I’m the coach of Bayern, and if they don’t like me, that’s okay too. I have nothing to prove to anyone but myself,” Nagelsmann remarked.