Bayern – Plzen preview, the rotation rematch

A rare easy game. FC Bayern visits Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday for a Champions League group stage rematch, an opportunity for Pep Guardiola to rotate his players without risking much.

Plzen, a little better

Since this team hasn’t changed much after the first encounter, we suggest reviewing the first tactical preview for details on its style.

Viktoria has somewhat fared better in the last couple of weeks. It lost 0:1 against Teplice in the Czech league, while trying to offer attractive offensive football. However, they lacked accuracy and couldn’t solve Teplice’s defensive pressure to score a goal.

On Friday night, they crushed Jablonec, a mid-table side, 6:1. Penalty calls and yellow cards helped them to get going.

In the first game against Bayern, Plzen was weak, static and hesitant in all departments. Knowing that they have nothing to lose and everything to improve, I expect them to apply more pressure in defence and to sometimes try their luck offensively. This won’t make them a powerhouse, but this game is likely to be tighter than the first one, when they were helpless.

Possible lineup

Bayern, rotation coming?

On Bayern’s side, the team will need a dose of rotation for this game.

The elephant in the room is that the boys played on Saturday. Only two days of rest between games isn’t enough for guys who were on the pitch for 90 minutes against Hoffenheim.

We are only halfway through the group stage, so it is not time to try crazy tactics. However, Plzen is weak enough for Pep to field almost anybody without the fear of losing.

Unfortunately, Arjen Robben is still missing, nursing a minor injury. Rotation players like Claudio Pizarro and Xherdan Shaqiri are still on the injury list for some time and Thiago isn’t ready yet.

How to rotate? Guys like Rafinha, Diego Contento, Daniel van Buyten and Tom Starke should get some minutes. It could be a good time for Toni Kroos to start again. I wouldn’t say no to giving Mitchell Weiser a chance. He should hold his own against opponents of that caliber.

If he uses Contento at left-back, Pep could experiment with David Alaba either in defensive midfield or on the left wing. It wouldn’t be nuts to have Mario Götze at false nine, to see if that works better than Müller.

Whatever the coach does, I think that a win is mandatory.

Possible lineup