The countdown is on: In the upcoming Champions League second leg against Lazio Rome, not only is FC Bayern’s progress at stake, but also the future of coach Thomas Tuchel. The 50-year-old wants to make up for the 1-0 first-leg defeat with the Munich team. According to the latest reports, Thomas Müller and Minjae Kim could surprisingly have to take a seat on the bench.
Kim, who did not train with the senior team at the last training session, will probably have to give way to the duo of Matthijs de Ligt and Eric Dier, as reported by BILD. The Dutchman and the Englishman have recently been able to familiarise themselves with the game, which could give them a slight advantage over Kim.
On the left, Alphonso Davies is ready to replace Raphael Guerreiro and bring new dynamism to the game. The recently disappointing Joshua Kimmich, who has been deployed more frequently at right-back in recent games, could be replaced by the recovered Konrad Laimer or move into midfield.
There, the coach faces the difficult decision of whether Kimmich should take on a more central role if he is not needed in defence. This would mean that either Aleksandar Pavlovic or Leon Goretzka would have to make way. In attack, Leroy Sané looks set to return to the starting eleven after his break against Freiburg.
Will Tel get his chance to start?
Youngster Mathys Tel, who has been one of the few players to provide good impetus recently, could get his chance in the starting eleven on the left flank. International Leroy Sané, on the other hand, will probably start on the right flank as usual. A possible start for Tel would mean that Jamal Musiala would move back into the centre position behind Harry Kane. This would mean that veteran Thomas Müller would have to take a seat on the bench. Which, according to tz, is the realistic scenario.
While Tuchel kept a low profile at the press conference, the coach was nevertheless combative: „I can say that nobody has more ambition to win tomorrow’s game than me.“ Tuchel and his team are under a lot of pressure in the Champions League round of 16.
