He’s changed his first nappy but there are no bags under his eyes – one day after the birth of his daughter Klara, Robert Lewandowski turned up at Säbener Straße in a cheerful mood and with a “special feeling”. “It was a very, very nice moment. I’m feeling good and so is my wife. Now we’re looking forward to what lies ahead,” said the new dad.
First of all it’s onto sporting matters, and Saturday sees the visit of Darmstadt 98 to the Allianz Arena (15:30 CEST kick-off, live ticker and Webradio commentary). “We’re at home and we want to win, even though we’re already champions. We want to show our fans good, attacking football,” said Lewandowski. The Pole also has a personal ambition in the remaining games of this season: the top scorer cannon. He currently leads Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang by one goal in the rankings.
“We want to create chances for ‘Lewy’ in the final three games and help him get the top scorer cannon,” said Thomas Müller in his rallying cry for the end of the season. Bayern know they’ll have to work hard to create chances on Saturday against a team that are bottom of the table and have to win to have any chance of avoiding relegation. “They’re a team that wants to stay in the Bundesliga. Games like that are always tricky. We have to concentrate,” stressed Franck Ribéry. And Carlo Ancelotti warned: “Darmstadt are a good side. They’ve won their last three games.”
Martínez, Coman and Neuer absent
The FCB head coach will be without Javi Martínez (cold) and Kingsley Coman (ankle problem) against the Lilies, as well as the injured Manuel Neuer. However Mats Hummels, who has been struggling with injuries lately, can play. “He’s fit for tomorrow,” revealed Ancelotti, adding that there will be “some rotation”. Renato Sanches and Joshua Kimmich are two players guaranteed to start in midfield.
Lewandowski is expected to start as is Thiago, who also became a father this week. “Normally in football new fathers score goals,” said Ancelotti, who’ll obviously be hoping that Lewandowski claims the top scorer prize. “But I think his primary focus is on helping the team to win the game.” ‘Lewy’ confirmed that himself when asked if he had a special baby celebration planned for Saturday. “Probably,” he smirked, “but first and foremost we need to play and win.”
Information on the opponents:
Coach Torsten Frings: “Even if Bayern aren’t at their best on the pitch, they still have more horsepower than us. But I don’t believe they’ll take their foot off the gas at all. We need to be very alert and stretch ourselves so we don’t go under the radar. Saying that, we’re not going to give up before the game’s even started. We’ll summon everything we have and then see what happens.”
Unavailable: Terrence Boyd (bruised foot), Peter Niemeyer (Achilles)
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