Bayern looking to “set course for Bundesliga restart” in friendly against Salzburg

FC Bayern take on Red Bull Salzburg on Friday (18:00 CET) in their only winter friendly before the return of the Bundesliga. The match is being played at the FC Bayern Campus. You can follow it across all FC Bayern channels, with live text and free Web Radio on fcbayern.com and in the app, plus a live stream on Facebook and YouTube. Here’s everything you need to know on the first game of 2023.

Bayern got in some extra practice with a game of mixed doubles football-tennis in Doha:

State of play for Bayern

Julian Nagelsmann and his team have just returned from an intense seven-day training camp in Doha, which the coach reviewed in a positive light. “The mood is good in the team, I’m very happy,” the 35-year-old said on Thursday morning before flying home. There isn’t much time to go until the Bundesliga resumes with Bayern away at RB Leipzig on Friday, 20 January, which increases the importance of this friendly against the champions of Austria. “We only have one match,” Nagelsmann stated, also implying that the sparring partner was deliberately chosen. “There’s a connection between our next two opponents,” continued the boss, for whom the game against Salzburg is only about “setting the course for the resumption of the Bundesliga.” Nagelsmann therefore announced that he will play his best possible team for at least 60 minutes. He seethe friendly on Friday as an “almost fully-fledged game for the players who currently have their noses in front.”

Check out the best photos from the training camp in Doha:

Opponents Salzburg

While Bayern are soon back in competitive action, Salzburg have some way to go until their first competitive fixture of the year against Sturm Graz in the Austrian Cup on 3 February. They will contest three more friendlies before then against Sparta Prague, Karlsruhe and Slovan Bratislava. “It’s out very first match of pre-season. Bayern are already far further along since they have their first competitive game in just a week,” said coach Matthias Jaissle. “That means a big challenge for us against a high-quality opponent, but we can all look forward to it.” This will be the fifth time in just over two years that the champions of Germany and Austria have faced each other. The previous four all came in the Champions League, with Bayern winning three, plus one draw.

Fitness update

January arrival Daley Blind will make his debut for Bayern in the Salzburg game. “He’ll play,” Nagelsmann confirmed the day before. As well as the players who remained in Munich to continue their recovery from injury (Sadio Mane, Manuel Neuer, Lucas Hernandez and Bouna Sarr), plus Noussair Mazraoui, who isn’t yet fit to play after a bout of Covid-19, Matthijs de Ligt will also miss out on the match. According to Nagelsmann, the Dutch defender has a “swollen ankle” after going over on it in training. Luckily there’s no structural injury. Otherwise, everyone else is fit to play.

Hear what Nagelsmann had to say at the end of the training camp in Doha:

What the coach says

"It’s an important game. We only have one friendly. It’s about setting the course for the resumption of the Bundesliga. And then against a top opponent. We’re planning on playing 60/30 minutes, so not everyone will get the same amount of playing time because we only have one game. But we have to see how things go physically. We’re taking it almost as a fully-fledged game for the players who currently have their noses in front."

We’ve picked out some of the highlights of the camp in Doha for you: