Bayern Munich long confirmed that they’ll be heading into the rückrunde as Herbstmeister (leaders of the first half of the season, literally meaning autumn champions), but they have the chance to m...
Bayern Munich long confirmed that they’ll be heading into the rückrunde as Herbstmeister (leaders of the first half of the season, literally meaning autumn champions), but they have the chance to maintain their 11 point lead at the top of the league if they beat FC Köln on Wednesday evening. For the Billygoats, they have not won a Bundesliga game since November and will want to get a few more points on the board considering the relegation battle is closing in.
Bayern Munich
Bayern have already played Köln in the RheinEnergieStadion during a DFB Pokal tie which they won 1-4. The result may look convincing, but for large parts of the game the score was level and Köln did cause Bayern some headaches.
This is something that head coach Vincent Kompany isn’t taking for granted: “It took until the end to make the difference”, Kompany remarked when discussing their last meeting against Köln.
“If we lose, we’ll have given something away. For the opponents, that will feel like winning a title,” Kompany warned: “But I don’t want to give anything away, that’s a huge motivation!”
Should Bayern avoid defeat on Wednesday, it’ll be only the third time in their history that they’ve gone a full calendar year without an away loss in the Bundesliga. The only previous times they accomplished that was in 1986 and 2013.
What’s more, should Bayern maintain their 11 point lead at the summit with a win, it’ll be the biggest gap from 1st and 2nd at this stage in the league table ever. In other words, utter domination from Bayern.
FC Köln
Whilst sitting 11th place and looking okay in the league, the Rhinelanders are yet to taste victory in the league since a 4-1 win over HSV in November. If they’re not careful, Köln could end up in a relegation scrap with a few other teams just below them.
In their last match, they did show resilience as they came from behind twice to draw 2-2 with FC Heidenheim.
Head coach Lukas Kwasniok says that the approach since the start of the season has not altered: “The lads are working just as hard as they did at the start of the season. There’s no difference in their approach, the team is working brilliantly.”
However, if Köln are to get something from the game, they’ll have to overcome a 15 year winless streak against their opponents. Despite the daunting task ahead, Kwasniok isn’t going to sit back and let Bayern dictate the play.
“We’ll play with a high back line again. If you sit back for 90 minutes against Bayern, it becomes very difficult.”
The 44-year-old head coach summarised his game plan by stating they’ll give everything to “somehow hurt Bayern.”
Teams News
Bayern Munich
The game comes too soon for Joshua Kimmich and Jamal Musiala, who are both still doing their own rehab. Vincent Kompany will be without Josip Stanisic, who suffered a capsular ligament injury to his right ankle during Sunday’s 8-1 over Wolfsburg. Serge Gnabry, Alphonso Davies, and Sacha Boey are all in doubt due to recent illness.
FC Köln
The Rhinelanders will be without the suspended Eric Martel and Rav van den Berg. Whilst Luca Kilian, Timo Hubers, Joel Schmied, and Dominique Heintz all miss out through injury.
GGFN | Jamie Allen
Category: General Sports
