Bayern Munich will kick off their DFB Pokal campaign with a visit to Preussen Munster on Tuesday. The three previous seasons saw the defending champions of Germany fall short of winning the trophy. They are now finding their groove after scoring 11 goals in their last two games.
Preview (Preussen Munster vs. Bayern Munich)
Following their midweek 14th consecutive Champions League group-stage victory, Bayern Munich welcomed VfL Bochum to the Allianz Arena on Saturday afternoon and handed their guests from the Ruhr region a routine hammering. Harry Kane’s first hat-trick for the club helped his side smash seven past Bochum once more. It was days after Thomas Tuchel’s team defeated Manchester United 4-3 at home. Bochum had fallen 7-0 in Munich the previous season. As he exceeded the mark shared by Gerd Muller, Miroslav Klose, and Mario Mandzukic, Kane also found time to contribute two assists, bringing his total to seven goals in five Bundesliga games to begin his Bayern career.
Now that their DFB-Pokal first-round match is set to take place at the 14,300-capacity Preussenstadion, Die Roten must take care of business there before their league matchup with RB Leipzig on Saturday. Bayern have been somewhat unsuccessful in their national cup in recent years given their continued domination. They have failed to reach the previous three finals and won the trophy only twice in the past seven years. The frightening Bavarian giants will undoubtedly try to buck that trend this season. After a shocking 3-0 Super Cup loss to Leipzig in August, they have won five of their past six games while scoring 22 goals.
With their thrashing of Bochum, Bayern went to the top of the Bundesliga standings, while the cup hosts are now sitting in a far more respectable 14th place in German football’s third division. The fact that they defeated SV Sandhausen and held VfB Lubeck to a 1-1 draw in their most recent matches may have given the team more confidence, but coach Sascha Hildmann, who guided Die Adler out of the Regionalliga last season, will have his work cut out for him trying to stop Bayern Munich’s unstoppable power.
Team News
Fellow forwards Mathys Tel and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting also scored for the team against Bochum. The latter two may now team up on Tuesday night. Raphael Guerreiro is still recovering from a calf injury. Experienced goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is still out for the visitors. Otherwise, Tuchel should have a complete roster to select from. Preussen Munster, in contrast, won’t make any such adjustments as Sascha Hildmann chooses his strongest team. Joel Grodowski performed well in Die Adler’s 1–1 draw with Lubeck. The former Bradford City striker should partner Malik Batmaz up front. However, Gerrit Wegkamp appeared as a substitute on Saturday for the sixth time this season. He scored a header just five minutes after coming on. He may now be able to compete for a starting position instead.
The club captain of the home team and Munster-born midfielder Marc Lorenz could potentially make an appearance, while on the bench, former USA international Andrew Wooten provides a different attacking option. Bayern Munich is in incredible shape. They might not give it their all in the DFB-Pokal because of a difficult league match. However, even a significantly altered team will have far too much skill for their hosts to handle, and a spot in the second round is undoubtedly in store.
Preussen Munster 0 – 3 Bayern Munich
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