Preußen Münster vs Bayern Munich: Lineups, team news, a new keeper in goal, injuries to the entire backline, & more! (Update: Kim 100% ruled out)

Update — Tuesday, September 26th, 8:50AM EDT: Center-back solutions emerge

According to Bild, 20-year-old Luca Denk, alongside with Joshua Kimmich and Konrad Laimer, are all available as options to play center-back today. With Matthijs de Ligt, Kim Min-jae, and Tarek Buchmann all out and Dayot Upamecano questionable, Thomas Tuchel will have to get creative with his backline:

Update — Monday, September 25th, 4:30 PM EDT: Problems mounting in defense for Bayern Munich

Both Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae apparently missed training ahead of the game. If they’re both out, then Bayern could have zero first team center-backs for the first knockout game of the season. Not exactly an ideal situation to be in. Would someone like Joshua Kimmich have to drop into defense in this scenario?

Since taking over Bayern Munich from Julian Nagelsmann last season, Thomas Tuchel has lost 100% of his DFB Pokal games thus far. Okay, to be fair, it was really just the one game, but that’s a pretty bad ratio for any coach that he’ll be looking to rectify this week.

SC Preußen Münster are not exactly world beaters — they sit languishing at 15th place on the 3.Liga table, having only won two games all season. With this in mind, Bayern Munich will probably rotate, but who’s going to get the nod? Let’s take a look.

Team news

Israeli keeper Daniel Peretz is due his first start since joining Bayern — the 23-year-old will replace Sven Ulreich in the lineup as confirmed by the coach. Aside from this, there are a few injuries to consider — Matthijs de Ligt is still suffering from the knock he took against VfL Bochum, and Jamal Musiala is still not 100% fit. However, at least Raphaël Guerreiro is back in the squad, and fans may get a glimpse of the former Borussia Dortmund fullback as a potential substitute (if not as an outright starter).

In terms of the lineup, this might be a good one for Harry Kane to sit out. Tuchel mentioned Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting in his pregame presser, so we can assume the Cameroonian will be preferred up top. Youngster Mathys Tel, who currently has an absurd scoring ratio in the Bundesliga right now, is also due a start. He may get a chance on the left in a supporting role to Choupo, alongside more experienced players like Kingsley Coman or Serge Gnabry.

In midfield, there are really no other options — it has to be Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka, or Konrad Laimer in place of Goretzka. That’s what happens when you start the season with only three first team midfielders. Where’s Joe when you need him?

The defense might get a bit of a shakeup, with youngster Frans Krätzig potentially coming in to give Alphonso Davies a little bit of rest. Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-jae are already locked in at center-back, so the only remaining spot in the backline could go to Noussair Mazraoui — a big opportunity for the Moroccan to regain his starting position under the new coach.

Here’s what the XI could end up looking like:

Interested in more discussion about Bayern Munich and Thomas Tuchel? What about the future of the German national team with Julian Nagelsmann in charge? Well you’re in luck, because we’ve got just that in our newest podcast episode! Listen to it below or on Spotify.

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