Nagelsmann preparing Bayern for hard fight at Bremer SV

Bayern’s DFB Cup campaign finally gets underway on Wednesday when they head to Bremer SV in the first round (kick-off at 20:15 CEST, coverage on fcbayern.com with our live text commentary and free web radio). The clash between the record winners and fifth-tier side from Bremen was originally postponed at the beginning of August as the opposition club were ordered to self-isolate. Here’s everything you need to know about the game.

Check out the best photos from Tuesday’s final training session in Munich:

Situation for Bayern

Last year’s cup campaign was unfortunately a short one as FCB were beaten on penalties by Bundesliga 2 side Holstein Kiel in the second round. Of course, the plan is to go further than that this time, and the Bayern machine is starting to click into gear now. Following the 1-1 draw at Borussia Mönchengladbach in the opening Bundesliga game, Julian Nagelsmann’s side have now beaten Borussia Dortmund in the Supercup and 1. FC Köln in the league last Sunday. “At the end of the day it’s about us wanting to and having to win the game, that we have to be focussed going about our work. The underdog will go to the limit, also physically. We have to be ready for that and ultimately win the game. That’s our intention,” the head coach said at his press conference on Tuesday.

You can re-watch Nagelsmann’s press conference here:

The opposition

Bremer qualified for the DFB Cup for the 10th time in their history by virtue of winning the Bremen Cup last season. They have previously come up against giants in Borussia Dortmund (1979) and Eintracht Frankfurt (2015), but now they face the competition’s most successful club. As the fifth-tier side described on their website, this is a “once-in-a-century game”. Roughly 10,000 spectators are expected with the fixture having been moved to Werder Bremen’s much larger Weserstadion nearby. “It’s a football match and we want to win it. Everyone can work out for themselves how great the chance is. It only works as a collective, we all have to defend together. And when we get a chance to score, we have to try and take it. There’ll be a big crowd and there’s a lot riding on it, but we can’t lose, only win. We’re ready,” said Bremer coach Benjamin Eta at his press conference on Tuesday, barely able to hide his excitement.

Player update

The busy schedule in the coming weeks mean Manuel Neuer, Robert Lewandowski and Leon Goretzka will not be in the squad on Wednesday. “Given the number of games, we want to manage their workload a bit,” Nagelsmann explained. Lucas Hernandez and Kingsley Coman both took part in team training on Tuesday, but the coach confirmed “they are not an option for tomorrow”. Coman could be back for the weekend’s game against Hertha Berlin, but we won’t see Hernandez until after the international break. Benjamin Pavard and Marc Roca (both ankle injuries) are also out. The latter did, though, begin running again on Monday.

What the coaches say

Julian Nagelsmann: “It’s about knowing what the opponent has planned. It goes without saying they’ll play differently than they do in the league. They want to get promoted so definitely play in a more attacking way. They have players with special abilities. Above all it’s about the target men.”

Benjamin Eta (Bremer SV head coach): “We have a lot of little goals. You should be able to see that we can play football. We want to be bold and brave, fair but also aggressive against the ball, and work hard. We want the game to be exciting. We’ll be able to take a lot from this game that we’ll hold onto forever.”

Check out 5 facts and stats about the cup game at Bremer: