FC Bayern play their final home game of the season and will debut their brand-new home kit when they host Wolfsburg at the Allianz Arena on Sunday (kick-off at 5.30pm CEST, coverage on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app with our live text commentary and free web radio). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 33 encounter in our preview.
Check out the photos from final training on Saturday:
State of play
Wednesday’s game in Madrid and Champions League elimination is still having an effect three days on. “We’re all coming out of a tunnel. It was all – really all – geared towards the two Real Madrid games,” said head coach Thomas Tuchel at his press conference on Saturday before looking ahead: “Now we’ve got two Bundesliga games left. It’s about not losing our laughter.”
Although Bayern don’t have much time to dust themselves off, they still want to close out the season at home with a win for the fans. Tuchel insists that his team will not “let go and will keep the emotions high. We’re all professional sportspeople and can’t let our heads drop.” The Bavarians’ one goal with two matchdays remaining is to secure the runners-up spot in the Bundesliga. They have some ground to make up on VfB Stuttgart after they went a point ahead following Friday’s 1-0 win in Augsburg. “It’s in our own hands. That’s our goal. Nobody will run any less tomorrow,” Tuchel affirmed.
Read more from Tuchel at his pre-match press conference:
Opponent: Wolfsburg
Bayern will need complete commitment on Sunday if they are to get a result, given Wolfsburg come to Munich in decent form. Since Ralph Hasenhüttl took over in mid-March, they have won four out of six games, only dropping points in defeats against Borussia Mönchengladbach (3-1) and RB Leipzig (3-0). But the Wolves bounced back after both losses and have now won three games on the spin.
Last weekend they guaranteed their Bundesliga survival with a 3-0 victory at home to Darmstadt, meaning they can play with freedom at the Allianz Arena. Hasenhüttl claimed a weight has fallen from their shoulders with that result, but his team still face a “herculean task”, adding, “Bayern at home is something else. Even if they’ve dropped some points at home this season, it’s still tough to get something there.”
Although Wolfsburg have mostly had to contend with the potential threat of relegation this season, there is still a chance they could actually make it into Europe. Only five points separate them and seventh place ahead of Sunday, which would at the very least mean entry into the Conference League play-offs, and perhaps even the Europa League.
Read up on the facts ahead of the game:
Team news
“We have a number of players with issues who are out of the game,” Tuchel declared at his press conference. “The forwards who started against Real Madrid won’t be able to play tomorrow.” Harry Kane has a back issue, while Serge Gnabry’s season is over with a hamstring injury picked up in Madrid. Leroy Sane is currently managing pain in his pelvis and likely won’t feature in the final two games. Jamal Musiala also won’t be involved against Wolfsburg due to a pain in his knee. Given the absentees, “a few guys who’ve been craving playing time will get some minutes,” according to Tuchel.
Sacha Boey (hamstring) and Bouna Sarr (ACL) both trained with the team for the first time since their injuries on Thursday, while Kingsley Coman (adductor), Tarek Buchmann (muscular) and Raphael Guerreiro (ankle) are also all out.
Wolfsburg come to Munich without Aster Vranckx due to a calf issue, while Mattias Svanberg has had a shoulder operation, but Ridle Baku and Keven Behrens are fit after missing training earlier in the week.
What the coaches say
We know what’s coming our way. We want to win the last two games.
Thomas Tuchel
It’s never easy to play against Bayern, especially in their stadium. I’m expecting an open and very interesting game.
Ralph Hasenhüttl (Wolfsburg)
Bayern will debut their new home jersey against Wolfsburg:
Topics of this article