Bayern Munich face Hoffenheim at the Wirsol Rhein Neckar Arena in their third Bundesliga match of the season.
The Bavarians face Hoffenheim as they look to maintain their 100 per cent win record this season. Bayern Munich are second in the table after two games as Borussia Dortmund have a superior goal differential.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men struggled in their last league game against Werder Bremen. The defending champions found it difficult to break Bremen’s resilience until Robert Lewandowski found the net twice in the final quarter of the game.
Hoffenheim, on the other hand, have not started the season particularly well themselves. The home side were unable to make the group stage of the Champions League after they suffered two defeats against Liverpool in their playoff games. In the Bundesliga they won their first game and endured a draw against Bayer Leverkusen in the second gameweek.
Team News-
Bayern Munich suffered a major blow this week when David Alaba suffered a serious injury while on international duty for Austria. The left-back is expected to be out for four to six weeks and will certainly be out against Hoffenheim.
"We will make a decision on @kingarturo23 and @jamesdrodriguez after training today." #packmas pic.twitter.com/MF2yj8oZt1
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) September 8, 2017
Along with Alaba, Jerome Boateng will also miss this game as he is yet to regain complete fitness. Juan Bernat is the long-term absentee as the Spaniard has been out of action since July. Ancelotti will make a late call tommorow on Arturo Vidal and James Rodriguez’s inclusion in the starting eleven. The Italian also confirmed that Javi Martinez is fit to face Hoffenheim.
Predicted XI-
Manuel Neuer will undoubtly start in goal after featuring against Werder Bremen. Ancelotti is likely to deploy Rafinha in the left-back role as Alaba and Bernat are injured. Joshua Kimmich will occupy the right-back role while Mats Hummels and Niklas Sule are likely to feature in the heart of defence.
In the center of the park, Ancelotti will reward Sebastian Rudy a place for his consistent performances since arriving from Hoffenheim this summer. Thiago Alcantara and Corentin Tolisso will complete the three man midfield.
Franck Ribery enjoyed a good break last week so the Frenchman is likely to feature on the left flank. Rodriguez is likely to make his Bundesliga debut from bench so Ancelotti will probably stick with Robben on the right-wing position. Robert Lewandowski will lead the line for the Champions.
Neuer
Kimmich – Hummels – Sule – Rafinha
Tolisso – Thiago – Rudy
Robben – Lewandowski – Ribery
Opposition focus-
Hoffenheim enjoyed a brilliant campaign last season under Julian Nagelsmann. They remained unbeaten at home in the Bundesliga last season. Hoffenheim finished fourth in the league which allowed them to qualify for the playoff stage of the Champions League. However, a defeat to Liverpool meant that they will have to be content with Europa league football this year.
Next: Sebastian Rudy excited to face his former club
Bayern suffered an away defeat against Hoffenheim last season. The home side have lost Sule and Rudy to Bayern but still have the potential to beat any team on their day. Bayern will have to be wary of Sandro Wagner and Andrej Karmaric. The two forwards have a good partnership upfront and can also hurt on setpieces. Kerim Demirbay is another player which could hurt Bayern with his key passes in final third.
Prediction-
Bayern Munich 2-0 Hoffenheim