R. Sociedad
Barcelona
Inter
Napoli
Lyon
St Etienne
Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel will not let himself be surprised by a Schalke 04 side that is fighting to stay in the Bundesliga.
“They’ve had a couple of emotional wins lately. They’re very brave. It’s a 1v1 all over the pitch at times. They’ve scored a lot on the counterattack, crosses and set pieces. They are the 8th best team in the second half of the season. We want to play our game,” said Tuchel (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
With Dayot Upamecano fully healthy once again, Tuchel will have a tough call to make on how to align his defense. Per the norm, Tuchel did not give any hints on how that might play out.
“Matthijs de Ligt and Benjamin Pavard did well. Benji did well at centre-back, Noussair Mazraoui was good in Bremen. Dayot Upamecano played well before that and only had two mistakes against City. We’ll make a very late decision tomorrow,” Tuchel noted. “(Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting) is not available yet, as is Josip Stanišić. Alphonso Davies is still out. Leon Goretzka and Dayot Upamecano are returning tomorrow.”
As Tuchel noted, Goretzka will be back in the squad, but the coach did not state if that would bump Ryan Gravenberch from the starting XI.
“He did well (against Bremen) – he waited a long time for his chance. He is hard-working, good with the ball and carries it well through the midfield,” said Tuchel.
Finally, when asked if Leroy Sané would replace Sadio Mané in the starting lineup, Tuchel played coy.
“Everything is possible. Leroy did well and scored a very nice goal. But not every goal guarantees a starting spot. With Sadio, we’re all waiting a bit for the breakthrough. For me it seems it’s about to come. We’re spoilt for choice,” Tuchel said.
Some of the photos that emerged from training tell the tale of what is happening with Bayern Munich’s injured players:
Choupo-Moting can not fully complete the final training before #FCBS04 with the team, trains again individually at the end. Questionable whether it is already enough for a deployment on Saturday. #FCBayern
Tuchel confirms: Choupo-Moting is not yet an option for #FCBS04, he is not in the squad. #FCBayern
Lucas #Hernández is training individually again today.
Josip #Stanisic is making progress. The Croatian is currently working on the agility ladder after running laps.
If you want more thoughts on the Bayern Munich vs. Schalke 04 match, check out our Preview Podcast on Spotify or below:
