Bayern Munich gear up for Supercup clash against Eintracht Frankfurt

Bayern Munich face Niko Kovac’s old side Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2018-19 Supercup, their first competitive game of the new season.

The German champions begin their 2018-19 season with a DFB Supercup clash against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday. Bayern Munich will be looking to avenge the DFB Pokal final loss they suffered at Frankfurt’s hands in May.

After Bayern ended their preseason campaign with an emphatic 20-2 win over FC Rottach-Egern, Niko Kovac will be eager to begin his managerial career at Bayern with a trophy in his first match. Opposite of Bayern, Frankfurt have endured a terrible preseason campaign. They were able to win only one out of their six friendlies. After being a disciplined team under Kovac for the past couple of seasons, the players are slowly adapting to Adolf Hutter’s methods.

Team News

Bayern Munich are likely to be without James Rodriguez for this game. The Colombian suffered a knock in training, and Niko Kovac will make a late decision on him. Jerome Boateng is also set to be included in the squad for this game despite the strong rumors about his potential transfer away from the club.

Serge Gnabry missed a training session on Thursday, but he is set to be fit for this game. Corentin Tolisso, meanwhile, will miss the match as he is still on holiday. The Frenchman will report back for squad training next week. There are no other injury concerns for Bayern, who will nearly have a fully fit squad.

More from Bayern Strikes

• Bayern Munich: Tactical takeaways from 2-2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen
• Bayern Munich: Kingsley Coman set to be fit for Manchester United clash
• Bayern Munich unlikely to move for Trevoh Chalobah in January
• Bayern Munich: Key lessons from draw against Bayer Leverkusen
• Bayern Munich remains keen on hiring Max Eberl

Predicted XI

Sven Ulreich enjoyed a brilliant 2017-18 season in the absence of Manuel Neuer. However, this season he will have to be content with a place on the bench as the world’s best goalkeeper takes his spot between the sticks.

Niko Kovac admitted in his press conference that he will stick with a traditional back four instead of a back three for most of the season. Mats Hummels and Niklas Sule will likely form the central defensive partnership, while Joshua Kimmich and David Alaba will occupy the right and left full-back roles.

The Croatian will likely use a three-man midfield. Javi Martinez will sit in front of the defense and dictate play from deep. Thiago Alcantara is likely to be the more box-to-box midfielder, while Thomas Muller will be occupy the attacking midfield position. In transition, it is likely that Muller might even become a second striker and the formation will revert to a 4-2-3-1.

Robert Lewandowski will definitely lead the line for Bayern Munich in this game. The Polish forward will be looking to get back to his best after deciding to stay at the club. Arjen Robben and Kingsley Coman are the wide players I think Kovac will start in this game.

"NeuerKimmich-Hummels-Sule-AlabaThiago-MartinezRobben-Muller-ComanLewandowski"

Opposition Focus

Frankfurt are set to sit deep and try to hit Bayern on the counter-attack. They were extremely compact in the DFB Pokal and will be aiming to execute a similar gameplan on Sunday. Frankfurt received a boost for the new season earlier this week, when Ante Rebic decided to extend his stay at the club. The Croatian forward will be a key player for Frankfurt on Sunday, as he will be throughout the season.

Bayern Munich will have to move the ball quickly in the final third and avoid inefficiency in front of goal. Apart from Rebic, Kevin-Prince Boateng is another forward who can cause a lot of problems for Bayern’s defense. Sebastian Haller was top scorer for Frankfurt in the Bundesliga last season and he is tipped to be even better this season. He, too, could prove a threat for the Bavarians, who will have to avoid lapses in concentration as Frankfurt will no doubt punish their mistakes.

Prediction

Kovac will be looking to get one over his former team and avoid the mistakes Bayern committed in the DFB Pokal final. With a strong squad available for this game, Bayern Munich will cruise to a comfortable victory.

Bayern Munich 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt