1. FSV Mainz vs FC Bayern Munich – Matchday 14 Fan Chat

it is completely the players’ fault , all of them except poor alaba – we can’t be a worl top 3 team with bastian and an average bundesliga team without him. tymo screwed us with that stupid red card , with him and gustavo playing the DMFs we wouldn’t have lost the last two games. rafinha and boateng should start playing in their real positions for god sake-
these results are just pathetic

its jupp fault playing ppl on wrong positions ans poor tactics

I MISS SCHEWINI!!!!! :’(

can’t we just move past badstuber ? this guy has no talent , he’s not a line-up player if you want to win the CL ; he’s in an entirely different league than muller and kroos , shouldn’t get the same treatment

We don’t seem to be a 2 game per week type a team lately this season every time we played CL we lost or barley won a game on the weekend.

Napoli 1 – 1 Bayern
Hannover 96 2 – 1 Bayer

Napoli 2 – 3 Bayern
Augsburg 1 – 2 Bayern (Both teams were evenly matched Bayern played poorly if you ask me, Augsburg could have won this game)
Dortmund 1 – 0 Bayern(we lost this one due to the week before, plus players were palying for the   national team had no rest)

Villareal 2 – 3 Bayern
Mainz 3 – 2 Bayern(Lost due to CL)

I dont understand Jupp tactics, we alwasy talks about changing playes up but its always the same ones. Gustavo-Tymo or Boateng – Rafhina, same thing over and over again Gomez sucks past 3 games and he always starts every game give olic a try why not petersen.

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I’ll have to disagree with you on this matter. Personally, I think he has the talent to become a great CB – he just needs more time and a quality CB partner to allow him to learn and develop. Let’s not forget that he just recovered from a rather serious injury last season and under LvG, he was constantly playing at LB

Strongly disagree with all this nonsense everytime we lose that Heynckes is poor, his tactics are off or his selections are terrible. That’s not to say mistakes haven’t been made (Alaba in DM, two for two in losses, no? Not to mention some utterly impotent attacking movement early in the season as well as against BVB), but that they’re being massively overstated. We’re missing the best CM in the world not playing for Barcelona (bless them!). We’re also hardly playing players in the wrong positions unless someone has some unconventional ideas which no one else has thought of. All of our players are playing in positions they are experienced in (unlike last year!). While it is true there is a lack of squad rotation and this certainly contributes to the exhaustion three things are worthy of note:

A) We don’t have backups of the quality to warrant frequent rotation in many positions (the exceptions are CDM, CAM, and RB). Honestly. do you think playing Contento, out-of-fitness Breno, or Olic are going to suddenly fix our problems? Nope. 

B) If Jupp were honestly to rotate and start say Petersen, we still play shit and lose 3-2, what would people be saying? 

C) When Van Gaal coached the team he didn’t rotate at all in his first season and nearly won the treble. While I am in favour of squad rotation I think with management of fitness (which perhaps may be one of LvG’s underrated talents) it is possible to achieve some measure of consistency twice a week. Oh well, we don’t play twice a week in major games until February now so it’s time to buckle down in the BL. 

Although I would be in favour of Kroos in holding midfield on the weekend against Bremen Mueller does need to be more willing to drop deeper and link play. If we are winning though at half I would love to see Heynckes haul off perhaps Ribery and Gomez and give other players a chance.

Hey Luke, hope all is well, we all miss you… I guess it’s more,  “if you don’t have something nice to say…”

I’m so pissed off, I don’t know what to say… so, I’m just going to cut and paste some things I said after the game against FCA and BVB…

After FCA….
1. Seriously, everybody knows I love JH, but he screwed up this game
badly.  Our flow is totally blown and we have to start from scratch. 
When Robben comes back the whole team is going to be in flux.

I
still think Tymo and Gustavo was the way to go, now we can’t even do
that, and we’re stuck with band aids.  And, why say anything about
Pranjic anymore? Why even put him on the bench?  After watching Kroos
and Alaba flounder on Sunday, he’s probably so frustrated, he won’t be
worth anything anymore now.  And, I don’t blame him.  And, Alaba’s
confidence will be shaken as will the whole teams with Schweini out. 
Seriously, even Tymo and Pranjic would have been fine for this game. 
The Alaba, Kroos stuff shouldn’t have happened until FCA were worn out
and broken.

2. Robben coming back is only going to add to the the confusion, because his ego will try to fill the gap left by Schweini.

3. Sorry, but one more thing:  the article on the BL official homepage
quoted stats that Kroos and Alaba ran more than anybody else on the
pitch.  However, Alaba in particular, had fewer attempted
challenges/tackles than anybody else for Bayern.  This confirms that he
was getting caught well out of position a lot.  He was giving up the
ball too easily and chasing shadows.   The first half may have been ok,
but FCA saw the opportunity and made adjustments at halftime, they took
it to our center mid in the second and had more success.

Alaba is
not ready to start in this position, nor is Kroos.  Now we’ve lost Tymo
on top of exposing one of the coaches premature ideas.  And, we missed
an opportunity to adjust smoothly to Schweini’s absence, and we don’t
have a clear idea of how to move forward…  Don’t think Klopp didn’t
notice this.  It encourages every other team to attack us straight up
the middle at our CB’s… at least Neuer made that save… I think he’s
going to have to make a few more if we want to get to the break in 1st
place.

in Elfmeter schiessen, after FCA

1.I’ll preface my comments about Tymo, by saying I’m obviously a fan,
so… whatever.   As I saw the game, it seemed Alaba was given
Schweini’s role in total… unfortunately, that puts him in the driver’s
seat, Tymo always plays supporting Schweini.  With Kroos and Alaba
turning over the ball so much and being deficient at defense
simultaneously,  Tymo was left holding the bag.  He was too busy
covering gaps and trying to reclaim the ball to be a calming influence. 
And, pass forward..? to whom.  With Alaba and Kroos getting pulled all
out of shape no matter which spot they were in, the other three
attackers were watching from a distance.  It so reminded me of one of
those LVG games where we tried to pass it around the back for 75 min of
the game.  The only difference was that Kroos/Alaba tried to force more
penetrating passes, than would have happened with LvG.  The lack of a
cohesive structure in the middle of the squad, made it impossible for
Tymo to lead… again JH made this game about Alaba and Kroos.  It’s
hard to believe that the only thing seperating JH from LvG is a better
use/application of Schweini, but we’ll see in the next few games.

2.I don’t see Gustavo being the leader, that Tymo supposedly wasn’t.  And,
I’m very concerned about a Bayern midfield trio of Kroos, Alaba, and
Gustavo in any combo for a full 90 min.

After BVB:

1.Well, I’m officially: WTF Jupp!!!  The whole vibe to the game felt a lot like LvG era BS to me.

2.We missed Tymo.  I will give JH credit Muller in the hole was the way to
help Gustavo and Kroos which was about all JH could do at CM.  But,
ironically why didn’t he start with Alaba on the right?

3.It seemed obvious Kroos was emphasizing defense, and he looked better. 
But, it took him almost completely out of playmaking and attacking.  It
didn’t help that we had three players standing as isolated as possible
waiting for the ball.

4. Missing the early chances was the difference.

5. BVB’s goal was fortunate, but not undeserved.  They played through our
right/center mid in the central third of the pitch and went straight at
our CB’s in the attacking third very effectively.

6. I think you’re right that the game was more, or less lost in the center
of the pitch.  BVB basically mirrored us formation wise.  Their CDM
combination played the way I wanted to see us play against FCA as a warm
up to this match with Tymo/Gustavo as dual CDMs

To sum up, I guess I do have a few things to say:

1. Don’t think Klopp and Tuchel didn’t get together for a little chat.  Now, it’s confirmed how to beat us, and we have to start all over again for Bremen.

2. I know Alaba looked stable against Villareal, but he had Tymo beside him, and Villareal are very weak right now.  Gustavo does not have the experience to support another player with limited experience.  I would have preferred the more conservative approach of Gustavo/Kroos with Muller at CAM, and Alaba on the right.  Maybe even try Pranjic, if JH wanted to keep Kroos at CAM.  We should have built on the few positives from BVB and got the other front 3 playing more defense.  Playing away at Mainz was not going to be easy.  This was the game to play for a draw, especially after BVB.

3. Our attack squandered the couple of chances we had in the first half and then turned off completely, watching our midfield get dissected and abused.  Two goals from one CB, and one off the crossbar from the other… and, that was our attack in the second.  Totally unacceptable.

4. Bringing back Robben prematurely was a very big mistake.  Now he’s a factor in all games and it’s creating friction on the bench… and, there was already plenty of that after the FCA game.

5. Homepage says DVB couldn’t sleep after the game, maybe he should stop dreaming of goalscoring glory and think hard about the number of goals/chances we’re giving away from headers in our own box.  Not to mention the shot whistling by him without even a flinch.  But, again he we are criticizing the CB’s while Gomez goes missing again for the entire game.

Now I’m seriously concerned.

Does anybody have any dirt on the Robben non-substitution, or anything else?  Sorry Luke for instigating such negativity, but I am interested to hear some behind the scenes stuff.  My German isn’t good enough to read, and the google translations are worse.  Just the quick bits so I can make up my own mind, knowing most of it is bs anyway…. that’s how frustrated I am.

I guess we both needed some time to cool off.  I like your level headed assessment, but have a couple of things to add.

1. Not only are we missing one of the top 3 CM’s in the world, I think were missing another top 10 in Tymo.

2.We are deficient at CDM with the above 2 missing.  Obviously, JH doesn’t think Pranjic is up to it, but Gustavo/Alaba got embarrassed on Sunday.  I’m concerned about both of their confidence going forward.

3. I think the fitness excuse is just that, and total crap.  Kroos came out saying he feels great.  Most of our team is young.  Ribery is the only question as his performances have been lacking in the BL.  Again, JH doesn’t think Pranjic is up to it. 

4. I still think JH is the best guy for the job.  But, I did see him do some stuff like this with B04 in the CL last year and, well, against us.  It’s a long season, and he tends to come out on top over the long haul.

I’m mostly concerned about team morale… Gustavo and Alaba will surely be shakin, Muller doesn’t seem to have that happy go lucky attitude lately, maybe it has something to do with the Robben stuff?

I’m also concerned that Klopp and Tuchel have followed up on FCA’s second half, and provided everybody with a blueprint of how to beat us.  Mancini, et al. will be watching these games over and over again.

It’s hard to assess our fitness. Statistically we are also the laziest team in the Bundesliga afaik, which makes it even tougher, since our players actually don’t run that much. My concern is that fitness is an excuse everytime we lose. Yes, because the physio-demons are after our players every once and a while and conspire to lose us games. No, we’re just not always that good and we need to focus more in improvement rather than doing enough to win (and otherwise blaming fitness). 

When you point out that most of our team is young it also makes one realize how good we have it in terms of fitness. I always got the impression as mentioned above the LvG coached us well in terms of fitness, we have very good backroom staff, and as you put it, youth. Hell, we hardly have it bad compared to some other big teams. Utd have Ferdinand who can’t combine fitness or form at all. Chelsea have an old squad with few backups for rotation. Juventus (doing very well atm) are basically playing the same 11 week in week out. Hell, even Barcelona has no real defensive cover except at LB. 

Remember the year we knocked out Juve from the CL under LvG? Now does anyone else remember what a terrible time they had with fitness that year? It seemed every week someone in the squad would pick up a new injury. 

I suppose I overstated our exhaustion. Because really, the idea that we’re exhausted is kind of ridiculous. If we were exhausted we probably wouldn’t be so near a clean bill of health (Only one player injured). 

I agree that Mueller doesn’t look like he’s having a lot of fun. It almost seems one of he and Kroos have been miserable at any given time since the WC. He’s also not playing well, though this has something to do with our massive left-sided dominance in attack. Actually, if you look at where Kroos at CAM’s actual average position is as well as where he plays passes from, he’s nearly a second left-winger. Actually, his profile does practically make him a wiger on plenty of teams in terms of positioning and play when we have the ball (like all the other teams in our group, now familiar opponents). 
Jupp has bad days. It’s true. Then again, outside of Mourinho (who, irrespective of circumstance always seems to keep games close, with the exception of a certain 5-0 drubbing, of course) what coach hasn’t? Van Gaal’s second year in particular had a fair few games where we would be outscored 3-1 or 3-0 or something and look second best. Klinsmann, was, well, a traumatic experience. Outside of Bavaria, Ferguson recently lost 6-2 to a fellow title challenger. Wenger’s Arsenal allowed 8 goals to the same Scotsman’s side. Guadriola certainly loses the occasional game, even against vastly inferior opposition. Robin Dutt’s Leverkusen have put in some shady games this year. Mainz haven’t exactly been worldbeaters (even if it does seem Tuchel is a “Bayern beater”). The list goes on and on. 

The bottom line is this: whatever our problems are (like losing 1-0 to M’Gladbach on a fluke goal), our opponents on the upcoming weekend lost 5-0 to M’Gladbach. Let’s look on the brightside!

Totally agree.  I think that there are 2, maybe 3 things since FCA (Schweini’s injury, loosing Tymo) that seem to be in play. 

1. It is obvious that we are weak at CM currently.  Neither Gustavo, Alaba, or Kroos have the experience to get behind the wheel of this Bayern team.  (image a 19-21 yr. old behind the wheel of a serious high performance race car… step on the gas too hard, spin out… too soft, stall… oversteering, understeering… you get the picture)

2. the older players, and those not so old, but established, are “only” doing their jobs, and then sometimes not even that.   When Lahm miss-controls a simple pass and it goes out for a throw in, or Ribery misses a relatively easy one on one in the first half… what does that do for Gustavo and Alaba.  I’ll give DVB some credit, but he shouldn’t be helping out Gomez up front.  His CMs need some help on defense.  He never seems to show any leadership in the back, and he’s been playing back there his entire career.  But, in general, the more experienced players are really not stepping up with Schweini and Tymo not in the squad.

3. Possible inter-squad conflict: I hope not, but it was bad enough with Pranjic, and Olic being pissed, but bringing Robben in/out could really upset things.  It was bound to be an issue sooner or later with Ribery, Kroos and Muller playing well together, but I think it’s even more tricky without Schweini on the pitch in training and in games.

JH really has his work cut out for him for the next month.  It’s a shame everyone forgets that it was his work that gave us the initial success and buffer, especially in the CL where we could have easily slipped up against ManCity or Napoli. 

I will say this, though, with robben in the picture, JH has changed our basic possession formation to the LVG-esque move with Ribery and Muller/Robben out wide and pushed up the pitch.  It makes it virtually impossible for them to play any defense.  In this formation, the FBs get pushed up to support so that they are in the same line as the CMs.  Our CMs have a huge amount of responsibility that they can’t hide from covering for them and buffering the CBs.  I’m not sure what the options are, but this one seems to have been thoroughly figured out by our opponents. 

Actually, with Schweini on the pitch, Kroos, Ribery and Muller seemed to be having a pretty good time of it… it all started at FCA and got horribly compounded when Robben started against BVB.  I would still love to hear the back story on how that decision was made, but alas Luke is keeping secrets (maybe).

Maybe we’ll steamroll Bremen and it was down to fitness after all.

I agree with you.

1. DvB is a CB – he should be defending. It wouldn’t be so bad if he helped with the attacking if the defense was ok (but it definitely wasn’t). But I got to admit that we have to thank him for scoring our 2 goals in this match.

2. We have many young players in the team. The older (and more experienced players) have to do what they can to allow the younger players to get the guidance they need. You can’t expect a young player to play well if you pair/team him up with other young (and inexperienced) players.

3. We definitely missed Tymo in this match. Alaba is not ready to take the place of Schweini yet. Kroos may be ready in the future, but not yet. Currently, he only focuses on either attacking or defending in any one match.

4. I haven’t read about any Robben-inter-squad conflicts so far – only Pranjic and Olic seem unhappy.

5. We really really miss Schweini. I hope he recovers fast and returns back to the team.

I never even knew we had a Schwenini!

Lol just trying to be funny in a frustrating moment.

I found some data regarding fitness which was in a comment but is pending approval or something because I put charts in it.

Quick summary of data I found though, was that we actually ran more against Mainz than Dortmund. So I don’t think fitness was an issue.

Schweini…my bad. so frustrating

Does anybody know what this statement on the official homepage is referring to?..

“Arjen Robben, who remained on the bench in Mainz with a minor fitness
problem, completed the team session and should be fit to face the
northerners.”

The English commentators kept mentioning something about Robben warming up, or not warming when asked to.  They didn’t elaborate, and they tend to be mostly clueless when watching Bayern games, so I didn’t know what to make of it.  There weren’t any camera shots of him either. So,…

“minor fitness problem”???   

My feeling, is that he got injured while warming up!

that’s what they were saying on the broadcast… ,but what does that mean???  

they were also saying that maybe JH was sending Robben a signal by not playing him, because of the comments he made to the media… but, I don’t know what those comments were. 

Other, than him saying that there is no internal strife in the dressing room, but why would that provoke a response from JH?

Can anyone elaborate?

1200 words, holy cow. I wish my homework was this long!

Where’s Luke you guys?

Hoping he didn’t take his life after that loss to Mainz. Still a long season ahead of us, Luke. Don’t sweat the loss, you guys, we will be back on top in no time.

You all saw our form in the first 2 months, we were incredible, and I seriously think we can top that. Schweini won’t be out much longer, just need to slide Kroos back into DM. Alaba has enormous potential, but the chap is still only 19, would like to see him more on the wings.

Hoping for a preview tomorrow Luke.

Cheers, you guys.

R.I.P. match previews 2009?-2011

I’m hoping it’s more like the flu that seems to be floating around Sabner Strasse. 

Get well soon!!!

We beat Bremen and get a Borrusian draw, we’d back on top with a bit of confidence to spare.  Not to mention we get Tymo back, and possibly a more fit Robben to finish the first half of the season strong. 

 Without Reus, the other game could be a low scoring affair, so why not?

I guess Kroos and Gustavo holding with Muller behind Gomez is the way to go.  Not sure who’s on the right, Robben/Alaba, or Rafinha/Baoteng, but I like latter two to start.

Could try Olic in the hole with Muller on the right, if the first two don’t work.  Maybe, even try Pranjic on the left, or at CDM to hold a lead, if we can get one. 

It’s hard to say with Pranjic, because we never see him, but it would be nice if we could just put him in with Gustavo and keep Kroos in the hole with Muller on the right.  But, i guess Pranjic gets no confidence.

Could some one tell me why we didn’t just get another midfielder during the summer?  Did Nerlinger not realize that Pranjic was never going to see playing time?  (It would’ve been nice to have Vidal for such situations, but oh well)

Here’s another pipe dream, presuming Pranjic is in what ever now passes for his peak form, put him on the left, move Ribery into the hole and keep Muller on the right.  It allows for Kroos at CM where he can continue working closely with Ribery.
while giving him a little help defensively with Pranjic pinching  in and channeling the play out to Lahm.

I’m slightly concerned about Kroos’ fitness.

Hopefully, Neuer feels like making a few saves this weekend, because a clean sheet would almost be acceptable.  Add on just one goal from Gomez, and I’d be happy.

I forgot, prediction: 1-0.

Not bad man luke should consider u as a replacement as long as u keep the fantasy line ups to a minimum lool like ribery in the whole……
Luke u r definitely. Missed

I have not been following the news lately, but I see no updates from Luke. I hope he’s okay.

Ummm, so I seriously hope Luke hasn’t kicked the bucket. If that Mainz game is the last game he ever watched, I’d feel really bad.

I’m sure he’s just busy dealing with some real world problems right now. He’ll be back. Sooner or later.

I dunno, I just hope ‘Luke’ is doing okay.

I hope so too!

I don’t know. Everything was perfect until before the Dortmund match. He decided to have a live chat instead of a preview, and from then on I haven’t seen him as much! Hope he is ok!

Well, now that I’ve finished wiping the egg off my face, I’m happy to give credit where credit is due.

First to JH: I don’t know what he did during the week, or what he said at half time, but Bayern really did look like a different team against Bremen.  Not only different, but also pretty damn good, especially in the second half.  He obviously knows what he’s doing and sticking with the same lineup that lost last week took some real guts.  He turned 3 1/2 rough matches around in one game.  The team looks to have actually gotten stronger in Schweini’s absence, if they can stay focused for the next month.

Second to the midfield trio of Kroos, Alaba, and Gustavo: They’ve had a pretty tough few weeks, but showed some real potential and lots of character in the first half.  The mix up for the goal was a blemish for Gustavo (and, the back 2), but they were already pushing for the second goal before Alaba came off.  Alaba’s assist for Ribery’s opener was especially impressive.  Kroos even looked more composed at CM than previously.  The amount of development all three showed in the first half was very encouraging.  I didn’t expect them to improve so quickly.  It’s nice to know we can count on them for the rest of the season.

Third to Robben: He showed a real willingness to play with the team.  He also looks very hungry, and worked hard.  There was a ton of pressure on him for that first PK and  he showed some real class putting both away cleanly.  (I did see him waving his arms in frustration once or twice, though. but, I can let that slide given his situation)   I definitely like him as a super sub best.

Finally to the whole squad for putting forth the effort required to press high and strike quickly.  There was excellent running off the ball and everyone played defense again.  This was probably the best 30 min. of Robbery since it’s inception. 

This team has some real potential to be the best in Europe this year.  I can’t wait for the Man City game.  What a perfect game to follow this performance.  After really coming together in the midfield, they get to test it again with a top notch competitor, and without any consequence.  It really doesn’t get much better from a coaching perspective, or fans for that matter.

well said tottally agree bro

Luke seems to be MIA.  Last seen Nov 27th.  Maybe vacation?

I hope you’re alright Luke; I’ve grown accustomed to getting one of your excellent (p)reviews around the midweek/weekend mark.

You guys are missing Luke so am I most probably this wont be half as good as he writes but just to please you all and for my local fan club tell me how it is k? Its my first preview

My first preview: Manchester city V/s Bayern Munich
The last time these two teams met in Munich both sides were strong
contenders to be Kings of Europe, since then One has almost struggled
domestically, just to gain the top spot back at the weekend. While the Home team have are facing a very serious battle with elmination from Europe in the debut season. City are just not able to replicate the stunning form they have been showing in the domestic championships, why? Read on : A LOOK AT CITY The last time this two teams faced each other, an Argentinean went from being a cult hero to a rebel No prices for guessing who? The only game in the entire season where City have failed to score was against us why?
If we notice all the three losses that City incurred 2:3 against
United, 0:2 against Bayern and 1 : 2 against Napoli even the 1:1 draw in
the champions league opener tells us a lot about Mancini and his men.
In all the games city played a 4-4-2 formation as opposed to 4-2-3-1 or
the 4-3-2-1 formation that has been bringing stupendous success to City
in the premiership including beating Tottenham and United 5-1 and 6-1
respectively and that too away from home. We all know Mancini
has never done too well in the Champions league from his Inter days. His
stubborn use of 4-4-2 formation in the Champions league has almost
bought an early end to their tenure in the Europe’s most elite
competition. Why doesn’t the 4-4-2 work for them. City
may have a huge squad but none of them have showed well suited to the
4-4-2 a lot of players like Toure, Nasri, Barry, Milner and even De Jong
for that matter have gone onto build the attack(which is good) but
against fast counter-attacking teams like United, Napoli and US their
CB’s which too are not Defensively as competent as their counterparts in
attack have been left exposed. City would most definitely be
playing with 4-2-3-1/4-3-2-1 which gives them more stability, while
attacking or defending helping them win the midfield battle The probable line-up for City would be Hart-Richards-Lescott-Kompany-Clichy-Toure-Milner-Barry-Balotelli-Silva-Aguero. A LOOK AT BAYERN :
Since the last time Bayern met City, Bayern have been quite consistent
in all three tournaments before stumbling slightly with losses away to
Mainz and at Home to Dortmund. But being Bayern they have regained their
composure to become top of the table champs Bayern were a
different animal against Bremen in their last fixture thanks to stunning
cameo from Robben and a good performance from Kroos both of them have
stayed back in Munich due to a bout of flu. All the remaining
18 players having travelled don’t be shocked to see Usami starting on
the Right flank.( ok, I am asking for too much) This game is not of a lot of importance to us. But I’ll tell you why we need to win this 1) If Bayern win City don’t qualify as simple as that
2) If we WIN and we get drawn to an English opponent in the
pre-quarters(very possible) we will have a mental advantage having gone
there and won a loss would be detrimental then. I think Bayern will bury this one 3-1 or it could even end in a goalless or a 1-1 draw but 3-1 says the fan in me. With Schweinsteiger, Robben, Kroos and Breno out Most probable line-up would be Neuer-Rafinha-Badstuber-DVB-Lahm-Tymo-Alaba-Usami-Muller-Ribery-Gomez Subs : Butt,Contento,Boateng, Olic, Petersen, Gustavo Pranjic My desired line-up would be Neuer -Rafinha – Boateng – DVB – Contento – Tymo- Pranjic – Usami-Muller/Olic -Alaba – Petersen Subs : Butt, Badstuber, Lahm, Gustavo, Gomez, Ribery, Olic/Muller. Expect Heyneckkes to spring a few surprises in this dead rubber
My prediction as i said before the score would read 1 : 3 to Bayern and
hopefully by then Arsenal would be the only English team in the
pre-quarters Thats all folks. Its my first preview, so please forgive me for my errors and add your inputs. Cheers! Mia San Mia!!

Not bad OjasM, not Luke, but not bad.

It will be interesting to see what Mancini does.  Does he turn his back on his usual, relatively unsuccessful conservative approach?  Or, does he turn his players loose and try to out score us?  My guess is he’ll do what he’s done for the hole group stage… choke.  His players will be aggressive and bold knowing we are lacking some key players.  But, JH’s tactics will make Mancini nervous, so the latter will try to hold back his team knowing at even one goal against will be a nail in the coffin.

My gut feeling watching our first match, especially in the second half, was that Mancini was panicky and insecure.  The English press don’t want to talk about it, but if you ask me, Tevez didn’t want to take the field, because he already doubted his ability to make a positive impact with the formation Mancini was playing.  Further, I’m not totally sure, but I don’t think Tevez played against Napoli in their first game which means he’s not cup-tied.  Maybe, Tevez also doubted Mancini’s ability to get them out of the group stage already, and wanted to maintain his marketability to other CL clubs.  I wouldn’t put it past his conniving agents.  Either way, I’m hoping for another crisis in confidence from the manager on down in our second match.

As for Bayern:  I’d be very surprised to see Usami start over Olic, and very disappointed as well.  I could see Usami possibly get 15 min.  I really don’t want Olic to leave in the winter.  I’d prefer him to score a goal, or two.

I’m also expecting Boateng to start at RB.  JH is going to want size and strength for set pieces.  Plus, he has EPL/ManCity experience, so he should be pumped up, but comfortable in Etihad Stadium.  DvB did take a few knocks over the weekend, so it’s possible we’ll see Rafinha come on and Boateng move to CB.

Other than that, I’m curious to see what JH does in the CM roles.  I’d like to see Tymo and Gustavo with Muller in the middle, and Olic on the right.  I wouldn’t be surprise if Pranjic gets a chance at CM, especially if Olic plays in the hole with Muller on the right.  However, there’s probably a better chance that JH will continue Alaba’s development and start him next to Tymo.

I’d like to see Alaba come on for Ribery.  Something tells me the latter won’t have his best game against ManCity.

Bayern still have the players to put up a good fight against ManCity, and could definitely catch them on an early counterattack.  Something like the first goal against Bremen would be perfect.  Just totally rain on their parade in the first 20 min.  I want to see their heads drop, and maybe kick at the turf a little wondering what might have been as they walk in at halftime.  Then, hopefully, Neuer puts on a clinic and saves a couple of clear chances, further frustrating the home crowd.

Having said that, ManCity obviously have the talent to beat a depleted Bayern squad, and it’s not like Bayern really care what others think.  In fact, despite KHR’s disdain for the ManCity hierarchy, I don’t think he’ll be so upset if we lose and the English media continue their hype of the EPL and disillusioned view that the Bayern are second tier.  It takes the pressure off our players, and let’s us play the underdog role when we meet our next EPL team, which I think will definitely be in the next round.

I’ll be happy as long as we don’t pick up any injuries and ManCity drop to the Europa league.  Napoli have earned my respect for their tough play and great coach.  I want to see them through.  It would also have to be especially satisfying to Boateng, were that to happen.

Predictions are tough, but I’ll put aside reason for passion and go with 1-2 Bayern win…Gomez and Olic score.

Or face down in some vomit.

My desire would be to see Olic do another perfect hattrick but this time in Man Shitty’s stadium!!!

Jupp already said that Olic would most probably start, but that he’ll only confirm the final line-up closer to the match. Muller and Gomez may miss out on the starting line-up because they’re showing flu symptoms.

Great reviews from both of you! I actually don’t really mind if Bayern doesn’t win this match, cuz I just want them to win the next Bundesliga match against Stuttgart. Still, as a fan, I’ll guess a 1-2 win for Bayern, with at least 1 Olic goal.

Hehe thanks I just do it for my local fan club in Mumbai, I never said I can do as well as Luke, I don’t wanna set any comparisons. Just thought like adding m y thoughts about the game thanks a ton @e64b39c212d32da848f150d840cb3b86:disqus

@BabyBrey:disqus I kinda disagree.  Winning this game would just set the mood right going into the draws on dec 9 and if we are drawn to an English side, a certain Manchester (if they qualify) then we are going to be mentally very strong. Having played there and trained on their ground lol but this game is more important than it thinks

And most importantly we are  BAYERN MUNICH we have to win every game now that just 4 remain to the mid-season break we have to up of our Ante

What I meant was that if we could only win either this match or the Stuttgart match, I’d rather we win the Stuttgart one. Sure, we are Bayern Munich and we’d always want to win all our games, but playing 2 matches almost every week is quite tiring (esp for the players that are seldom rotated). It would definitely be great if Bayern could win this match (that’s why I predicted a 1-2 win for us),but the Stuttgart one is of more importance, and we shouldn’t tire or injure players in this match just for the sake of winning it

I agree obviously JH wont be playing Kroos and Rob and I really doubt even Muller will start hope Ribery is rested so we can get our players some rest ahead of the Stuttgart game but I wish we can win all 4 pretty  confident we ll win all

Any thoughtful, or fun comments on Bayern from anybody are always welcomed on my part.

that’s so cool that you write for your friends in Mumbai, I just ramble on here for anybody who listens.   I’m not sure there’s even a fan club in NYC.
Fortunately, the manager at my local bar lived in Germany during his youth and is a Bayern Fan, so at least I have someone to watch the game with.

I think BabyBrey has it right though, the BL games, and even the Pokal are more important.  Hopefully, Napoli come good and do their job.  I really do not want ManCity to get out of the group.

PS. we might see more Usami against ManCity if Muller and Gomez aren’t feeling well.  And, I’d love to see Peterson and Usami score against them.  How funny would that be?!!!  2 players in their first BL season playing against the ManCity Mercenaries.  Maybe, we’ll see a 4-4-2 with Olic and Peterson up top.

FCB fan club in Mumbai? I’d wanna be a part of it!

I really hope Usami and Petersen start with Alaba on LM @e64b39c212d32da848f150d840cb3b86:disqus  thanks a ton I appreciate that I am no Luke but yeah I wanted to do something for this site I love the people here.  and I really very honestly must accept this that I love your comments. Your view’s about Bavaria are so forthcoming

I always ask Luke more about the youth set-up cause I my peers back in Mumbai to know, which exciting players are coming through.

I really wish Usami starts.  Do you think we’ll buy him at the end of season. We could tie him to a long-term deal and loan him to a fellow BuLi club (ideal:Monchengladbach. he could flourish under Favre and we could get Reus)

The kid is very similar to Reus just way more talented to be honest!

Always welcome mate, add me on facebook only one Ojas Mhatre in the world

I think Usami is doing fine.  He needs to keep up his work rate during the spring.  If he does, he’s got a very, very good shot at getting signed. 

I think that loaning him to Gladbach is a possibility with the Reus deal looking good.   But, we tend to loan out to teams more in need.  I could see Usami at Nurnburg, if they don’t get relegated.  Good Bavarian small city where he would have to learn German language, culture, and get time on the pitch.

And, thanks for the kudos.  I just try to say it as I see it.  My old man is Bavarian, and he and I’ve analyzed the game my whole life, especially, Bayern and Germany.  Can’t watch a game without picking it apart.

Off to watch the games.

I hadn’t even considered his choicefully worded tweet ‘RE: us finishing CL group winners with a match to spare,’ until now.  Bad omen.

If you observe Reus and Usami are very similar players so if Usami goes there maybe he could even play in Europe next season but he seriously needs to build his phsyique he is even thinner than Robben and Muller