Bayern vs. Darmstadt preview: Neuer makes his long-awaited comeback
Darmstadt travel to Munich for a brutal matchup against a rejuvenated Bayern side who have their legendary captain back in goal.
| Manuel Neuer. |
Bayern
It’s been a decent start to the campaign for the record champions who maintain a perfect Champions League record, yet sit 3rd in the Bundesliga table. It is shaping up to be a long battle with Leverkusen at the top, while a salivating Der Klassiker matchup awaits next weekend.
The big news is that Manuel Neuer is expected to make his return after 10 months away to the starting lineup this weekend and replace Sven Ulreich. The front four of Kane, Musiala, Sane, and Coman are expected to continue with Laimer next to Kimmich in midfield.
Dayot Upamecano is still about two weeks away from a return.
When asked about Neuer, Thomas Tuchel said, “I think he wants to prove himself to everyone again. But, he's mostly delighted that he made it. In training I see a whole new level of goalkeeping. He is in a league of his own. He should see that as a gift for his own work. In training he's showing a very unique level of goalkeeping."
Team News
Upamecano, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, and Raphaël Guerreiro are out.
Darmstadt
After two wins in a row, Darmstadt fell back to earth with a 3-1 loss to Leipzig last weekend. But, things are not all dreary for the newly-promoted side who are still playing far better football than what was seen over the first few matchdays.
It will be interesting to see whether Torsten Lieberknecht forces his team to sit back or actually take it to the Bavarians. The back three of Matej Maglica, Christoph Klarer, and Klaus Gjasula will undoubtedly have their hands full trying to keep Bayern at bay.
Lieberknecht commented, "I hope our 6000 traveling fans will be as loud as the spectators in Istanbul were on Tuesday. - Bayern have the quality to resolve all situations. We, on the other hand, need a perfect day and a moment of weakness from Bayern to be successful on Saturday."
Team News
Fabio Torsiello and Aaron Seydel won’t be available.
