Ahead of the Champions League match against Sporting Lisbon, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany has given a personnel update – and raised hopes for the return of Alphonso Davies.
The Canadian is apparently facing a possible return to the squad for the first time since rupturing his cruciate ligament in March. Kompany said of the personnel: „Aleksandar Pavlovic played 30 good minutes, everything is fine. We still have to discuss Alphonso Davies, but the possibility is there that he will be in the squad tomorrow. I think it will be a close game. I don’t think he will get any minutes yet. Everything before Christmas is bonus with him. But it could be that he still plays this week.“
The goalkeeper issue was also discussed – and Kompany made it clear what the planning looks like: „If everything goes as expected, Manu will play tomorrow.“ This means Manuel Neuer will return in goal after the rotation in Stuttgart.
At the same time, the coach praised Jonas Urbig: „We have a good, young, German goalkeeper in Jonas Urbig. He put in a wonderful performance against Stuttgart. He will get his momentum. We have four games in eleven days, which was good for Manuel. We always try to bring Jonas in at the right time and support his development. He has our total trust.“
Kompany analyzes opponents Sporting
Another focus: rotations and load management. Kompany said: „It always depends on the form of the players or the opponent, it alternates. I don’t talk much about it, it’s always about trusting the boys. If we win, it’s about personnel, that’s okay, I like that. We have competition and I like that situation.“
Kompany had clear words for his opponents Sporting: „Technically they are strong and they have a lot of talent. They have fast players in attack who can go deep. They also have active midfielders and defenders who can also play soccer. This is Champions League. We want to play at our maximum level. Sporting have quality.“