Less than 48 hours after advancing to the second round of the DFB Cup, Bayern face their next challenge on Saturday evening (from 6:30 pm with our live text updates and free web radio), when Hansi Flick’s team travel to face Arminia Bielefeld – here’s all the important information in our preview.
The situation for FC Bayern
Bayern played the first of eight games in 23 days in the DFB Cup during the week – and the right load management is still required in the difficult weeks ahead: “It’s a tough programme. But we have enough players,” explained Flick, while at the same time emphasising there is no question of holding back against the newly-promoted side: “We want to play our football and continue to implement our ideas. That is only possible with one hundred percent effort. If one player can’t give one hundred percent, someone else has to play,” emphasised the 55-year-old. As well as two home wins, the reigning Bundesliga champions travelled home empty-handed from their only away game of this season so far (4-1 in Hoffenheim) – let’s hope this doesn’t happen in Bielefeld!
Thanks to two goals from newcomer Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, FCB came through their first round game in the DFB Cup against Düren on Thursday evening.
Opponents Arminia Bielefeld
Newcomers Bielefeld will be looking to capitalise on their home advantage for this duel with the record champions: In 2020, DSC have managed 26 out of 30 possible league points at the Bielefelder Alm. The lack of spectators for the first duel with Bayern in more than a decade does tarnish the mood somewhat. “It’s a shame for all the fans who have been looking forward to games like this for years,” said Arminia’s managing director Samir Arabi. Nonetheless, coach Uwe Neuhaus knows his players will be highly motivated even without support from the stands: “The opponents are Bayern Munich, you saw the shine in the players’ eyes during training,” explained the coach of the East Westphalian side.
Team news
On Saturday, Flick can turn once again to the players who were still on international duty during the week. As the 55-year-old confirmed on Thursday evening after the duel against Düren, everyone returned without injuries – but Flick will only decide the starting lineup after the final training session. Leroy Sané will not feature: according to Flick, he is “not yet ready” after his knee capsule injury. The same applies to Tanguy Nianzou after a thigh injury.
Working towards his comeback after a knee capsule injury: Leroy Sané
Hosts Bielefeld, on the other hand, will be without Andreas Voglsammer (rehab), Cebio Soukou (muscle injury), Cedric Brunner (thigh) and Arne Maier (training deficit).
What the coaches said
Hansi Flick: “Bielefeld are newcomers who want to play football. Uwe Neuhaus has a team with a very good philosophy who want to build the game from the back, and they have very good footballers in their ranks. It will be a very interesting and exciting game.”
Uwe Neuhaus (Arminia Bielefeld coach): “We’ll probably lose nine out of ten games against Bayern. But we won’t wait till those nine games are over. I dare to predict Bayern will have more possession on Saturday, but we won’t surrender without a fight because of that. We have to look for a way forward and stay dangerous.”
