On Saturday, FC Bayern will face Borussia Mönchengladbach. Three points are the clear goal for the record champions. But two players also have their eyes on next week.
FC Bayern can manage to become champions again on their own. This is the result of the last Bundesliga match day. Only two points separate Munich from league leaders Bayer Leverkusen. On Saturday, Bayern want to get closer to the “Werkself”. Borussia Mönchengladbach is a guest at the Allianz Arena (from 3:30 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online), while Bayer Leverkusen has to play away against newly promoted Darmstadt 98.
Given that the “Lilien” are currently bottom of the Bundesliga, the chances of Bayern jumping to the top of the table are rather slim, even if they win. A week later things look different. Because then coach Thomas Tuchel’s team will play against Leverkusen in the top game.
Munich needs the best players for the duel. But Leroy Sané and Matthijs de Ligt could miss the game. Because both have already collected four yellow cards. Another would mean the ban. So you have to be particularly careful not to get warned in the game against Gladbach.
An important player could also be missing at Leverkusen
With Kingsley Coman, Konrad Laimer and Serge Gnabry, three important players will definitely miss the game. Central defender Dayot Upamecano is also on the brink with his torn muscle fiber. Min-jae Kim is also at the Asian Cup with South Korea. The defender reached the semi-finals after a dramatic game – and could also miss Leverkusen if they take part in the final. That’s why it’s even more important for coach Thomas Tuchel that Matthijs de Ligt doesn’t pick up a suspension on Saturday.
But there is also a prominent name at Bayer Leverkusen who is threatened with a yellow card suspension. Midfield boss Granit Xhaka already has four bookings to his name. If one were to come along in Darmstadt, he would miss the cracker against Bayern. Given the loss of world champion Exequiel Palacios, that would be difficult to cope with.