There are certainly more difficult preparations for away games. FC Bayern have already analysed their opponents earlier in the week. It’s just under 100 km from Säbener Straße to the stadium in Augsburg. The bus journey should take no longer than an entertaining game of “I spy”. “But that’s not the main issue. We are going to Augsburg to play football,” stressed Thomas Müller ahead of the Bundesliga game at FC Augsburg (Saturday 15:30 CEST, and you can follow it via our Live Ticker), just three days after beating them in the DFB Cup (3-1). The world champion knows, “three points will be crucial because we have sides right on our tail in the league.”
Carlo Ancelotti is expecting a similar game to Wednesday evening at the Allianz Arena, even though Augsburg will play “a little differently” in front of their own fans. “But I think they will defend again and look to counter,” said the FCB head coach, who outlined his strategy: “We want to attack with great intensity tomorrow.” That goes for the full 90 minutes, as Ancelotti stressed after reviewing his side’s most recent performances: “We started the last three games very well but then our intensity dropped below 100 percent in the second half.”
Coman a doubt
Ancelotti will be able to call upon the same squad as in recent times, with only Kingsley Coman remaining doubtful – "He took a knock.” Franck Ribéry and Rafinha are still definitely out. The starting XI is expected to see numerous changes once again after Ancelotti made eight changes for the cup tie on Wednesday. “I will decide the team after training today,” said the 57-year-old.
Augsburg are also expected to make some changes to their side. Captain Paul Verhaegh and Halil Altintop are over their injuries, but Alfred Finnbogasson (adductor) and Dominik Kohr (infection) remain doubtful. Caiuby (knee) and Raul Bobadilla (shoulder) are definitely still out. “The most important lesson from the cup game is that we have to cut out the mistakes. Every error will be punished. I hope we can do better on Saturday,” said coach Dirk Schuster.
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