The personal situation at FC Bayern is tense before the top game at Borussia Dortmund (Saturday, 6.30 p.m.). Especially in the central midfield, two players, Joshua Kimmich and Marcel Sabitzer, are definitely not available, and Leon Goretzka is not at 100 percent either.
Kimmich is still in corona quarantine, while Sabitzer is slowed down by a calf injury. Goretzka was unable to train on Wednesday due to hip problems, the day after he was at least back on the training ground and completed part of the team training – but he had to end the session early.
Josip Stanisic would have been the secret candidate had it not been enough for Goretzka. Actually a full-back, the home grown-up played in some preparation games as well as in the away game against RB Leipzig in September at times on the six.
But: The 21-year-old Croat tore a muscle bundle in his left thigh during training and will therefore be out “in the coming games”.
So what options does Julian Nagelsmann still have in the event of Goretzka’s failure?
Corentin Tolisso
The French world champion was already set in the last two games against Dynamo Kiev and Arminia Bielefeld due to the failures of Kimmich and Sabitzer and should also be involved in Dortmund from the start, regardless of the Goretzka personnel. Nagelsmann praised him explicitly after the Bielefeld game, Tolisso had done his job as a strong ball distributor in front of the defense “well”.
Tolisso has already had good experiences with BVB: At the most recent meeting in the Supercup, as a substitute with a strong conquest of the ball, Robert Lewandowski made it 3-1.
Jamal Musiala
Nagelsmann brought the 18-year-old against Bielefeld after 56 minutes for Goretzka. A little later, Musiala, in cooperation with Thomas Müller, prepared the relieving opening goal by Leroy Sane. Would the more offensive youngster really be an option in the center next to Tolisso against a strong team like against BVB?
On the one hand, he feels much more comfortable in the ten or one of the wings, on the other hand, he impressed a year ago in the Champions League away from Atletico Madrid as an “attacking six” – at that time alongside Javi Martinez.
Marc Roca
The only classic six in the squad next to Kimmich. However, like under Hansi Flick, Roca has a difficult time under Nagelsmann and hardly gets a chance. Internally it is said that the Spaniard trains hard, but his footballing quality is simply not good enough for regular assignments.
Last week against Kiev, the left-footer, who came from Espanyol Barcelona in October 2020, was allowed to play 23 minutes – his first ever appearance this season. It is unlikely that Nagelsmann will throw him in against BVB from the start.
Tanguy Nianzou
Another option for the six in an emergency. Before moving to Bayern in summer 2020, Nianzou played more often in defensive midfield under Thomas Tuchel at PSG. This summer Nagelsmann also tested the 19-year-old from time to time in this position during training.
However, the Bayern coach recently attested him a too risky and faulty passing game, whereupon Nianzou hardly played in his regular position in central defense. In this respect, a deployment in the Signal Iduna Park would be quite a surprise.
FC Bayern Munich: The games until the winter break
