Bayern Munich’s Julian Nagelsmann mulling injuries, midfield options, and acknowledged his team needs three points this weekend

Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann is preparing to set his squad for FC Augsburg, but is dealing with some injuries and also has some tough decisions with certain positions.

Lucas Hernandez, Kingsley Coman, and Bouna Sarr are all out, but Dayot Upamecano and Benjamin Pavard should both play.

“Lucas, King and Bouna are out. Upa is doing well, it was just a knock to the knee, nothing dramatic, he didn’t train yesterday but will be able to complete the final training and play as normal, the same applies to Pavard, both are available,” Nagelsmann said at his press conference (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).

One area of the squad where Nagelsmann will have a tough choice will be in the central midfield. Joshua Kimmich, Marcel Sabitzer, Leon Goretzka, and Ryan Gravenberch have all shown well this season.

“I haven’t made a decision on all positions yet. Leon Goretzka did well. Josh can always play, he’s a very important player, an important link. That’s why we don’t want to do without him. If the situation allows, he will be given breaks. I think he will start tomorrow. There’s no risk, he’s not an injury-prone player,” Nagelsmann said. “(Gravenberch)’s played a few games, maybe a bit too few for his ability, which is due to the competition. Leon has now also done very well. Ryan is still a very young player who needs a bit of acclimatization. He’ll continue to develop and play a lot for us.”

Whoever he starts will be tasked with helping lead the squad to three points in the Bundesliga — something the team has failed to capture in its last three league games.

“It’s very important to go to the international break with a win. We’re a bit behind in the table. If you look at it purely football-wise, we had a good phase — in the stats, we are far ahead everywhere. But in terms of results, we expected more in the last three games,” Nagelsmann said. “Augsburg plays a lot of long balls, they go for the second ball and shoot from distance. They work hard. We have to make use of the chances we create. Then I’m confident that we’ll go into the international break with a win.”

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