Bayern Munich returned from the winter break and picked up right where they left off. The Bavarian giants clinched a decisive 3-0 victory against European hopefuls Hoffenheim.
Jamal Musiala gave the hosts an early lead in the 18th minute, and despite challenging the Hoffenheim backline, it would take until the 70th minute for Musiala to find the net again to give Bayern some breathing room. A red card for Hoffenheim in the 74th minute allowed Bayern to see out the game after some important stops from Manuel Neuer. Harry Kane would add a third in the 90th minute to continue his brilliant Bundesliga scoring run.
Bayern Munich welcomes Werder Bremen to the Allianz Arena on Sunday as they continue to keep the pressure on league leaders Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel will be looking to see a good performance on Sunday after the training camp in Portugal. With both the African and Asian tournaments going on in background, Tuchel will again be short of full strength squad. Let's look at what to expect from both teams ahead of Sunday's match.
Bayern Munich
Manuel Neuer continues to show that despite the setback last season, he is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world. When the side needed him to step up during the ten-minute phase in the second half against Hoffenheim, he responded with massive saves. As long as he is fit, he will start in the goal.
With Noussair Mazraoui at the African Cup of Nations with Morocco, Konrad Laimer filled in at right back for Tuchel. While Bayern continues to look for a right back in the market, Laimer should fill in. Kim Min-jae is with South Korea for the foreseeable future, so Matthijs de Ligt filled in for him against Hoffenheim. However, after picking up an injury at the Portugal camp, his involvement may be in doubt. With that said, we could be seeing the first of January signing Eric Dier. Dayot Upamecano remains the one constant at center back for Tuchel. Alphonso Davies should start in the left-back position.
In the midfield, Tuchel sprung a surprise last game with the inclusion of Raphael Guerreiro to play alongside Joshua Kimmich. Personally, I see Tuchel's idea of allowing Kimmich to sit deeper and gain a more creative midfield presence in Guerreiro to work alongside Kimmich. With Werder Bremen's poor scoring record and away form this season, I can see Tuchel sticking with this more attacking pairing. Jamal Musiala bagged a brace against Hoffenheim and he should continue operating underneath Kane.
We have been seeing Tuchel use Leroy Sane on the left to provide more width for the likes of Kane and Musiala. While Sane's involvement drifting centrally in attacking play has decreased, we have seen the defense begin to clean up the leaking of goals that plagued the side the last few months. This also provides an opportunity for Muller who got the start last week and arguably should have found the net at least once. Kingsley Coman saw about 20 minutes against Hoffenheim as he returned from injury. Will that be enough to warrant a selection from the start? Harry Kane will continue striking fear into Bundesliga backlines.
Bayern Munich Predicted Starting XI
Neuer
Laimer-Upamecano-Dier-Davies
Kimmich-Guerreiro
Coman-Musiala-Sane
Kane