Bayern Munich vs Stuttgart: Lineups, team news, rotation is dead and Magath killed it, and more! (Updated)

It’s time for the victory lap! With Bayern Munich set to play their final home game of the season, the Meisterschale will officially be presented to the team this Sunday.

The result of this game against Stuttgart is basically meaningless at this point, but Julian Nagelsmann doesn’t want a repeat of the limp performance we saw against Mainz. His solution? Play ALL the first teamers.

Team news

Bouna Sarr is the only Bayern player guaranteed to be out for this game, which doesn’t matter because Lothar Matthaus and Felix Magath have somehow bullied Nagelsmann into thinking that he NEEDS to show a reaction for the 3-1 loss to Mainz. Most Bayern fans would probably prefer to see some youngsters get a shot, but us plebs don’t get to have our opinions amplified by the German media.

So, the lineup. Don’t expect anything complicated. We should see Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller up top, flanked by Kingsley Coman and either one of Serge Gnabry or Leroy Sane. Based on recent form, Gnabry is ahead of Sane at the moment, so let’s assume he’ll be the one to start. Musiala? Never heard of him. Let’s move on.

The midfield is interesting because it’s going to be absolutely unchanged from one we saw in the last game. And the game before that. And the one before that. And so on. The last time Bayern Munich started a midfield pairing that WASN’T Kimmich-Goretzka was all the way back in the 1st leg vs Villarreal, a game most folks will want to forget.

Don’t get me wrong, Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka are great players, but they have ZERO competition on this squad which is clearly a selection headache for the coach. Hopefully if the Ryan Gravenberch deal goes through, he can challenge the two incumbents for a starting spot next season.

In defense, Julian Nagelsmann at least confirmed that Niklas Sule will not play anymore given his impending move to Borussia Dortmund. Expect Dayot Upamecano to take his place in the backline, forming a back four consisting of Alphonso Davies, Lucas Hernandez, Upamecano, and Benjamin Pavard. Manuel Neuer will be between the sticks, supplied with a handy copy of “How to speak French”.

So what will that lineup look like? Here’s an idea:

Other options:

• Leroy Sane in for Serge Gnabry on the wing.
• That’s it. No Musiala, no Omar Richards, no Nianzou. They’ll be lucky to get some substitute appearances. Vidovic isn’t even getting called up, Paul Wanner probably won’t play either. So much for “player development” I guess.

Update

Leroy Sane has been ruled out with a cold, so that means our predicted lineup probably won’t change tomorrow.

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