Bayern Munich vs VfL Bochum: Lineups, team news, injury updates, and more!

After an uninspiring win over Manchester United on Wednesday, Bayern Munich return to Bundesliga action against a much tougher opponent — 13th placed VfL Bochum. Thomas Tuchel was asked about the idea of rotating his starting XI, but the coach is currently playing his cards close to his chest. So, what exactly can we expect?

Team news

Manuel Neuer is STILL not back in full team training, only able to complete partial training with the team even now. Tuchel confirmed that the coaching staff is satisfied with Sven Ulreich, so fans hoping to get a glimpse of Israeli keeper Daniel Peretz may be left disappointed.

Up top, Harry Kane is once again expected to start. He will likely be joined by Jamal Musiala behind him, as Tuchel seems to be winding down Thomas Müller’s influence on the starting XI. Leroy Sané and Serge Gnabry both scored vs United, so they may well get the nod ahead of Kingsley Coman — then again, this would be a good opportunity to bring Coman back into the groove after he missed the Leverkusen game with an injury.

Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka are the only midfielders available for the starting XI, as Tuchel explicitly confirmed in his presser that Noussair Mazraoui has been benched for Konrad Laimer at right-back. Is it a good idea for Bayern Munich to field all three of its midfielders in every game? Who knows — maybe someone should ask the coach.

The defense is actually a source of controversy this season, as Matthijs de Ligt has seemingly been benched indefinitely — not only is new signing Kim Min-jae ahead in the pecking order, but Dayot Upamecano appears to have regained Tuchel’s trust following last season’s debacle vs Manchester City. Raphael Guerreiro is back in training, but he will likely sit on the bench in favor of Alphonso Davies.

This is what that starting XI could look like:

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