FC Bayern Munich: Three things to watch against Arminia Bielefeld
By Daniel Garza
FC Bayern Munich face newly promoted side Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday.
The Bundesliga is back this weekend as the October international break has come to an end. FC Bayern Munich will be facing Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday as they go in search of another victory. Arminia Bielefeld is one of the two newly-promoted sides from the 2.Bundesliga.
After winning the German second division last season they are off to a decent start in the top flight by collecting four points in three games. It is going to be a big day for Arminia as they host the defending Champions on Saturday. Here are three things to watch for ahead of Saturday’s league game.
Robert Lewandowski in search of more goals
A two-goal performance for Poland in the UEFA Nations League was the perfect ending to Robert Lewandowski’s international break. He will enter the match against Arminia Bielefeld in very good form after recording four goals against Hertha Berlin matchday three of the Bundesliga.
Arminia Bielefeld is the only current Bundesliga club that Lewandowski has yet to score against. This will be something to watch for on Saturday as it will be yet another impressive accomplishment for Lewandowski if he can score for the first time against Armina Bielefeld. It will be mean he’s scored at least one goal against every current club in the Bundesliga.
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Senior players will return
This fixture will be Bayern’s second match of the week. On Thursday, they defeated FC Duren in the DFB-Pokal but they used a squad comprised mostly of players who did not play in the Nations League during the international schedule.
The new signings were involved in this victory against FC Duren. Since senior players have played three games for their countries in the past two weeks, it was essential to give them rest on Thursday. The senior players will be fresh to face Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday.
By bringing in players such as Douglas Costa and Eric-Maxi Choupo-Moting, it has given Hansi Flick the opportunity to rest his star players such as Serge Gnabry and Lewandowski. This match should display that adding these players was the right move as it avoids matches where the players are very fatigued such as the performance against Hoffenheim. With the added depth, Bayern may not have many more performances where they are hampered by fatigue.
Amos Pieper or Alphonso Davies?
Two of the Bundesliga bright young stars will feature in this match. Amos Pieper of Arimina Bielefeld was recently nominated for the Bundesliga Rookie of the Month award for September after his strong defensive performances. He will face his toughest test yet as he will go against the Bayern offense on Saturday.
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For Bayern, Alphonso Davies was recently selected as a finalist for the Golden Boy award and he will be looking for a strong performance if he is selected to the starting XI. Which young player will have a bigger impact on Saturday?