Braunschweig Bayern preview, last chance to get out of the comfort zone

Since winning the Bundesliga title, FC Bayern has been in a comfort zone, underperforming in every match. The game with Eintracht Braunschweig provides the last chance to get out of it on Saturday, with the upcoming Real Madrid tie in everyone’s mind.

Braunschweig, on the brink

Good luck, bad luck. This could easily sum up Braunschweig’s season so far. Some of their losses were truly unlucky, with hard work being unrewarded when conceding late goals, often on defensive mistakes. But then, a few of their wins were due to a bad game and mistakes by better opponents.

This leaves Braunschweig at the bottom of the table in a tight relegation race. The best candidates to go down, although one win could change everything.

Braunschweig are tactically flexible. Their most frequent formation being 4-4-2. With their current injury situation, we are likely to see a super defensive 4-3-2-1.

They have the least possession in the Bundesliga, have the least accurate passes, do not intercept often and shoot mostly from outside the box. This is a recipe for “sit back and counter” tactics, although Braunschweig only has one goal this season in this type of situation.

Who should we watch? Mostly attacking midfielder Karim Bellarabi, a two way player who knows how to escape his mark and go behind the defence. He’s the only one who regularly dribbles and shoots.

The best scorer is striker Domi Kumbela, who has a nice shot, is good in the air and doesn’t hesitate to go for the bicycle kick if he has the occasion. But he should be out for this game. We may see striker Havard Nielsen, who scored with an unstoppable volley against Hannover.

During the winter break, Braunschweig acquired midfielder Salim Khelifi from Lausanne-Sport. The youngster is talented and he can beat defenders and set up a shot, but he can also be pushed around by bigger players. It remains to be seen if he will get his first start against FCB.

As a proof of inconsistence, Braunschweig conceded goals on unlucky bounces and keeper mistakes, but they also beat a rattled Leverkusen defence and benefited from soft goals conceded by Hannover. Will the lucky or unlucky team show up against Bayern?

Against Bayern in November, the minnows conceded 79% of possession, rarely trying to go forward and getting punished on the counter several times. We are likely to see more of that on Saturday. Its defence is leaky, especially with its coverage on set pieces in the area.

Possible lineup

Bayern, will Sammer’s words be enough?

Despite being runaway champions in the league, FC Bayern goes through its most difficult phase of the season. Lack of motivation and multiples injuries are adding to Pep Guardiola’s headaches. As if it wasn’t bad enough, his players have been called out this week by sporting director Matthias Sammer, who said that they were given enough space for a breather lately. It’s time to kick butt again.

FCB will have to try that without Manuel Neuer, who should return from a minor calf injury against Real Madrid. David Alaba is out with a cold. The other injuries have already been known.

With the state of the squad, Guardiola may have to play Javi Martinez in defensive midfield to ensure some level of rotation. If we base our assumptions on the midweek game’s substitutions, Javi will finally be playing where he should be playing.

The starting XI may or may not be experimental. It is very hard to predict because so many players are working on their comebacks.

What is clear is that there are no excuses for Bayern not to hand Braunschweig a big defeat. The 5:1 scoreline against Kaiserslautern in DFB Pokal was impressive, but the gameplay was not. The Reds need to get back into a rhythm to get ready for Real Madrid. A convincing performance is mandatory.

Sammer’s declarations on Wednesday were typical of Bayern management when it had enough. They usually whip the players. I’m expecting some of that.

Tactically, Bayern should get a monster share of possession, giving them every opportunity to attack and deliver several goals.

I want a win, by at least three. Anything else would be unacceptable.

Possible lineup

Protiv Reala ćemo pokazati koliko vrijedimo

Trener minhenskog Bayerna, Pep Guardiola, smatra da slabije igre njegovih igrača nisu uzrok loše forme već njihovog opuštanja i njega samog.

“Smanjio sam intenzitet treninga poslije obezbjeđivanja titule prvaka Bundeslige. Mislio sam da će to igrači shvatiti na pravi način, ali sam se prevario.”

“Opustili su se, a to nije bio cilj, trebalo je samo da ih rasteretim malo pred teške duele u Ligi prvaka koji slijede. Zbog takvog odnosa vraćen je stari intenzitet treninga”, rekao je Guardiola.

Također, osvrnuo se na spektakularno polufinale Lige prvaka koje slijedi.

“Očekujem tešku borbu, ali i spektakl za gledaoce. Dobro ćemo se spremiti, a i oni će biti spremni. Pokazat ćemo koliko vrijedimo”, istakao je Guardiola.