The skies above Munich seemed somewhat dull on Tuesday with autumn showing its darker side. But things will brighten up considerably on Wednesday evening when the lights are switched on at the Allianz arena for the tie against Augsburg in the second round of the DFB Cup (kick-off 20:45 CEST and you can follow the game via our Live Ticker).
“It’s an important game,” said chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge ahead of the match against the side twelfth in the Bundesliga, “We have to carry on from our performance against Gladbach.”
“Anyone who knows Augsburg will know what to expect,” assessed Thomas Müller ahead of an evening of hard work, “It has never been easy for us against Augsburg.” And Manuel Neuer expects the same again, “They will demand everything of us.”
It will be Carlo Ancelotti’s first match against Augsburg in charge of Bayern, but naturally the Italian and his team have closely analysed their opponents. “It will be tough because it’s a derby and Augsburg are a good side. They play with great intensity,” said Ancelotti ahead of the first of two ties in a week against FCB’s fellow Bavarians. The Bayern coach is hoping that his team will be “in the position to put in the same performance and show the same quality they have done in the last two matches.”
Badstuber in line for return
Manuel Neuer does not want to leave anything to chance in this match: “Any mistake can be costly in a knock-out tournament. You can’t go rushing forward when things aren’t working well. We know how nice it is to play in the final in Berlin and that is our aim as always.” Ancelotti also knows “this competition is important. There will be a great atmosphere if we get to the final. But we have to think game by game.”
The Allianz Arena is not quite sold-out yet and some tickets will be available on the day at the ticket office from 12 noon. Two people who definitely won’t be part of the action are Franck Ribéry and Rafinha. “He picked up a slight injury against Gladbach – all other players are fit,” said Ancelotti. Douglas Costa and Javi Martinez will likely be rested, giving Holger Badstuber a chance to make his first competitive appearance since February. “I think he will start on the bench but I would like to give him the opportunity to get some match practice under his belt.”
Augsburg are also looking forward to this game. "It’s unbelievable that we play Bayern back-to-back, but we accept the challenge and want to get the best possible result from it,” said FCA keeper Marwin Hitz. His coach Dirk Schuster will once again be without forward players Caiuby (knee injury), Raul Bobadilla (shoulder problems) and Alfred Finnbogason (adductor problems). “We don’t have the possibility of resting players in our squad. We will pick the best XI available to us,” said Schuster.
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