Today, Sunday, FC Bayern will play at SV Elversberg at 5:30 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on DAZN, and the bold and brash newly promoted team is looking to give the record champions a run for their money.
Both the players and the coaching staff emphasized repeatedly in the lead-up to the match that they would not take the opponent lightly under any circumstances. This made the record champions’ lineup all the more anticipated.
Given the 5-0 win over the Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt, significant rotation wasn’t really expected, even though a large part of Coach Vincent Kompany’s squad is fully fit and ready to play.
Kimmich and Diaz on the bench
Kompany himself emphasized once again ahead of the match just how important the game is for Bayern: “We always want to show the best version of ourselves, and that’s exactly what we want to do tomorrow. Whether in Dortmund or in Elversberg, the motivation is exactly the same.”
At Schalke last week, during the 0-0 draw, a more extensive rotation backfired—at least insofar as Bayern, despite their dominance, failed to find their rhythm and at times played too slowly and sluggishly.
Coach Kompany didn’t offer many insights into his starting lineup decisions during the pre-match press conference; he didn’t want to give too much away. However, it’s now clear how Bayern will approach this away game.
The record champions are rotating the lineup a bit, but there’s no complete overhaul. Joshua Kimmich and Luis Diaz are getting a rest; both are on the bench. In the double-6, Aleksandar Pavlovic plays alongside Tom Bischof, while Michael Olise, Ismael Saibari, and Lennart Karl play in attack behind Harry Kane.
Meanwhile, Jonas Urbig is in goal. Josip Stanisic and Nathaniel Brown are playing at the fullback positions. Dayot Upamecano and Minjae Kim are the center backs. Serge Gnabry made the roster and is on the bench alongside many other big names.
The Bayern lineup at a glance
Urbig, Stanisic, Upamecano, Kim, Brown, Pavlovic, Bischof, Olise, Saibari, Karl, Kane