Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel unlikely to break center-back pairing vs. FC Augsburg

If you liked how Bayern Munich center-backs Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae performed against Werder Bremen last weekend, you are in luck.

If you are yearning to see Matthijs de Ligt in the starting XI this weekend against FC Augsburg, well, you are probably not going to like what Thomas Tuchel has to say.

“Dayot and Minjae did very well in Bremen. It was a clear step forward in terms of overall defensive behavior and compactness. We want to build on that. Matthijs de Ligt is coming from an injury and lacks a bit of rhythm and form. It was extremely important that he played for half an hour at a very high level. There’s no reason to change anything based on performance. But if we see tactical reasons, we are happy to change things,” said Tuchel (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).

Some observers would argue that De Ligt’s entry into last weekend’s match stabilized the defense and subsequently allowed the attack to play more freely, but Tuchel appears to not agree with that assessment.

Tuchel did, however, leave himself an out should he opt to go a different direction at the last minute. As always, the Bayern Munich boss always has the option to throw a curveball at the opposition.

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