Normally, the official BFW prediction for Bayern Munich’s games will appear in the Weekend Warm-up, but because the author is a dope, he forgot to add that section, so you will get it here!
Bayern Munich vs. Manchester United is a hell of a way to kick off the Champions League season for the two clubs. To date, Bayern Munich has not fully clicked around Harry Kane, which will leave Thomas Tuchel some interesting decisions. Thomas Muller vs. Jamal Musiala? Kingsley Coman vs. Serge Gnabry vs. Leroy Sane? Konrad Laimer vs. Noussair Mazraoui? Matthijs de Ligt vs. Dayot Upamecano vs. Kim Min-jae?
The boss has some tough calls to make on how to match up with an equally disjointed attack from Manchester United. It is no secret that the Red Devils will be seeking to unleash Marcus Rashford down the left offensive flank to do battle with Bayern Munich’s right-back. That matchup should be the key to the game, but who will it be for Bayern Munich? Laimer has gotten the nod of late and has done well, but Mazraoui was the anointed starter once Benjamin Pavard transferred away.
Similarly, Manchester United will be dealing with trying to stop Kane, while also stifling Bayern Munich’s dangerous wingers. Knowing that, it seems like Tuchel will opt for Sane and Gnabry overcome given the German duo’s ability to score.
Regardless, the match should live up to the hype as neither team has anything to lose at this point, which should lend itself to a fun game. I feel like Manchester United is going to put a couple of goals on the scoreboard, but Bayern Munich will do them one better in what could be a wild one.
Prediction: Bayern Munich 3-2 Manchester United
Harry Kane has not gotten a chance to get out much since transferring from Tottenham Hotspur to Bayern Munich, but he has taken in 18 holes with Thomas Müller.
“Not really yet. I had a free afternoon where I went golfing with Thomas Müller and a few other people. I went to dinner with the boys and of course was looking for houses. But I’m looking forward to getting to know the city even better in the coming months,” Kane said.
Adding Niklas Süle and Gareth Bale could round out a foursome nicely. Make it happen, Christoph Freund!
Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen hooked up for the Bundesliga’s marquee showdown of the weekend.
With two teams that were rolling heading into the international break, it was a shame that they had to meet on a Friday night to kick things off. The extra day of preparation might have done both teams some good, but the game was closely contested either way.
Bayern Munich got off to an electric start, but fizzled just when Bayer Leverkusen was ready to mount a challenge. In the end, the final score was a crazy 2-2 draw that featured many swings of emotion.
Here is what we have on tap for this episode:
- A look at Thomas Tuchel’s starting lineup.
- A rundown of the scoring.
- Some thoughts on how Bayern Munich looks at this point.
- Exploring Mathys Tel’s ability to create from the outside and Leon Goretzka dramatic goal — and how just a little sloppiness from Alphonso Davies killed Bayern Munich at the worst possible time.
Some at Manchester United are worried that the agent for Erik ten Hag, Kees Vos, is a little too hands on with some of the club’s transfer activity:
Staff at Manchester United are becoming increasingly concerned with the involvement of Erik ten Hag’s agent, Kees Vos, in their transfer activity. Ten Hag’s son also works for Vos’ SEG agency, who were heavily involved in negotiations to sign Rasmus Hojlund and Sofyan Amrabat this summer.
Bayern Munich inked 18-year-old Colombian footballer Ana María Guzmán:
Francisco De Sá Fardilha, Technical Director for Women’s Football, is convinced of the 18-year-old’s development so far: “We have followed her performances at the Youth World Championships, at the U-20 and U-17 levels. She impressed us very much back then. And recently their performances were very convincing not only in the Colombian league, but also at the World Cup.”
After an extremely crazy week with the German national team and also Bayern Munich getting back to action in a Friday match vs. Bayer Leverkusen, get ready for a Weekend Warm-up/Preview Show combo — it’s a two-for-one deal!
On this episode, we will discuss the following hot topics:
- A preview of Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen — an absolutely key match for the Bavarians in the Bundesliga — Jamal Musiala and Raphaël Guerreiro should be available, but what about Joshua Kimmich?
- The unsettled situations of Matthijs de Ligt and Leon Goretzka at Bayern Munich — and what it might mean for their futures with the club.
- A look at Hansi Flick’s tenure as coach of Germany and where it all went wrong, plus, is Julian Nagelsmann the next man up?
- A review of All or Nothing — The German national team in Qatar and why that probably foretold Flick getting sacked.
Former Bayern Munich and Manchester United player Owen Hargreaves is looking forward to watching the Champions League tie between the two clubs.
“Bayern are certainly favourites at home, especially after signing Harry Kane. But United are obviously still a threat. They’ve got a quality attack: Marcus Rashford is a great counter-attacking player, Bruno Fernandes plays brilliant balls in behind, so United have a lot of chances. However, if Bayern are in their normal form, I expect them to win the match at home,” Hargreaves told FCBayern.com. “The plan in Manchester is to be back competing at the top in the Premier League. It’s not been an ideal start to the season, though. They lost the first two away games at Tottenham and Arsenal, and it doesn’t get any easier now playing Bayern away. But United also had some problems at the start of last season and then went on a great run.”
Former Bayern Munich player and current Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels might be contemplating retirement:
Mats Hummels may retire at the end of the season, according to Bild.
It is reported from people surrounding the defender that this season is likely his final one, with his contract at the club also expiring next summer.
Despite no longer being a captain at Borussia Dortmund, Hummels is still a key piece in the dressing room. The defender’s potential departure would leave a vacuum within Dortmund’s squad, especially with Marco Reus having a smaller role in the team this season.
The 34-year-old also continues to be important on the pitch for Dortmund, with his two goals at the weekend helping his side to beat Freiburg 4-2.
Hummels and Jerome Boateng were quite the center-back tandem back in 2014.
So Bayern Munich are set to begin their Champions League campaign by hosting Manchester United at the Allianz Arena. While Utd may not be in great form, this is the type of fixture that draws the attention of the footballing world, simply because the names of the teams involved tend to attract a ton of attention. Given that Bayern have not lost a group stage game since 2017, Thomas Tuchel is under a lot of pressure to deliver immediate results here.
In this episode, INNN discusses the following:
- The state of Manchester United heading into the game.
- Who Erik ten Hag could rely on as danger men — Rashford, Højlund, and Fernandes.
- Why Erik ten Hag is under pressure.
- How should Thomas Tuchel line up his team versus Man United?
- Why Jamal Musiala could be a great option vs United.
- Is Tuchel in trouble if he fails to win?
- Changing gears — what is going on behind the scenes at the DFB? Why did KHR resign, and is Nagelsmann gonna be the next coach?
- Why is Gündogan now captain of Germany?
