Bayern Munich will seek to win their first home game of the season against FC Augsburg on Sunday.
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich will welcome FC Augsburg to the Allianz Arena for their first home game of the Bundesliga season on Sunday.
Die Roten won their opener 4-0 away to Werder Bremen and are pursuing a 12th straight Bundesliga title. Bayern came out on top last season thanks largely to Borussia Dortmund’s inability to drive home their advantage. Thomas Tuchel will be keen to avoid a repeat and will want his side to put up points on the board.
Augsburg started their campaign with a stunning 4-4 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach, having to settle for a point after conceding an injury time penalty. This defensive naivety will have no place against Bayern this weekend.
While their defensive fragilities can be exploited by a mobile Bayern attack, Augsburg could cause their more illustrious opponents problems by opting to take the game to them. Bayern have lacked bottle at times under Tuchel, and these deficiencies were laid bare for all to see last season.
The German manager had turbulent spells at Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea before arriving at the Allianz Arena. Not running away with the league title will see the pressure pile up on him. So it is in Tuchel’s best interests to put points early on the board. The Hard Tackle looks at how both sides could line up on the night and what tactics they might implement.
Team News & Tactics
Bayern Munich
🗣 Über den kommenden Gegner sagt #Tuchel: "Augsburg hat den Stil etwas verändert, legt mehr Wert auf Passspiel und Ballbesitz. Der FCA hat seine Grundordnung verändert. Wir erwarten einen Mix aus einer konterstarken Mannschaft und Kombinationsspiel."#FCBayern #FCBFCA pic.twitter.com/LBWtkw3tH5
— FC Bayern München (@FCBayern) August 25, 2023
Die Roten will be without Manuel Neuer and Jamal Musiala, both of whom are out injured. Benjamin Pavard is on his way out and might not feature, while Raphael Guerreiro is also a concern for Sunday.
More so, Gabriel Marusic and Bouna Sarr will also remain sidelined, limiting Thomas Tuchel’s options to rotate effectively. The German boss has an otherwise full roster to choose from but should retain his trademark 4-2-3-1 formation with changes made in personnel where needed.
Sven Ulreich should start in goal behind the back four of Alphonso Davies, Kim Min-jae, Dayot Upamecano and Noussair Mazraoui. The experienced German duo of Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich should patrol the midfield, winning the ball back and stopping Augsburg’s attack in its tracks.
Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sane should retain their spots out wide, with veteran Thomas Muller coming in for the injured Jamal Musiala. Summer signing Harry Kane should reprise his role at the top. Four of the five players on the Augsburg right side scored against Gladbach. The onus will be on Kim to cover for Davies when he pushes forward, leaving space behind him that can be exploited.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Ulreich; Davies, Min-jae, Upamecano, Mazraoui; Goretzka, Kimmich; Coman, Muller, Sane; Kane
FC Augsburg
Enrico Maassen’s attacking setup saw Augsburg put four past Borussia Monchengladbach. But their setup also laid bare the defensive inconsistencies on the table. Having lost their DFB Pokal opener against Unterhaching, Der Fuggerstadter are yet to secure a competitive win this season.
Patric Pfeiffer is suspended for the game while Robert Gumny is back available after serving his time out. Maassen is also sweating on the fitness of several players such as Renato Veiga, Arne Maier, Irvin Cardona, Jeffrey Gouweleeuw, Reece Oxford, Masaya Okugawa and Raphael Framberger.
Maassen is unlikely to deviate from his 4-2-2-2 formation that appears to be a high risk high reward setup. Finn Dahmen should start in goal behind the back four of Mads Pedersen, Felix Uduokhai, Maximilian Bauer and Arne Engels.
— FC Augsburg (@FCAugsburg) August 24, 2023
Niklas Dorsch and Elvis Rexhbecaj will aim to hold the fort down in the middle of the park and provide cover for a defence that has several holes in it. How well the duo can provide a platform will make life easier for Ermedin Demirovic and Ruben Vargas to push forward. Mergim Berisha and Sven Michel should lead the line and will aim to get at Upamecano, who always appears at the risk of making an error.
Probable Lineup (4-2-2-2): Dahmen; Pedersen, Uduokhai, Bauer, Engels; Dorsch, Rexhbecaj; Demirovic, Vargas; Berisha, Michel
Key Stats
- Bayern Munich have lost just one of their 12 home games against Augsburg in the Bundesliga. They have won ten of these encounters, drawing one another.
- Bayern Munich have failed to score against Augsburg at home in the league just once, all the way back in 2015.
- A win on the night will see Bayern Munich become the first term to earn 4,000 points or more in the Bundesliga all time list.
- Bayern Munich have lost both of their last two home competitive games. Another defeat on the night will see them lose three home games in a row for the first time since 1977.
- Augsburg squandered 23 points from winning positions last season. Bayern Munich are third in that list with 19 points surrendered.
Player to Watch
Harry Kane
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The main man (Picture Courtesy – AFP/Getty Images)
The Englan skipper scored on his Bundesliga debut last weekend and also earned himself an assist for Leroy Sane’s opening goal. The 30-year-old is a world class striker and hands Bayern a suitable replacement for Robert Lewandowski.
Augsburg’s defensive struggles should give Kane several goalscoring opportunities, and he could have a field day at the Allianz Arena. It will come as a surprise should he end the night without a single goal to his name.
Prediction
Bayern Munich 5-1 FC Augsburg
Bayern Munich have shown glaring holes under Thomas Tuchel but are the far superior team on paper. More so, their attackers are all finding top gear ahead of the game. Coupled with Augsburg’s poor backline, all signs point towards a mammoth win for Die Roten. Augsburg’s ability to hit Bayern on the counter attack should give them an opportunity or two to spring a surprise.
