Of the Bayern Monaco they have regained their place in the sun thanks to a strong first-half final tournament and are four points clear of Freiburg. However, the mood is not very good anymore, mainly due to the DFB team’s World Cup fiasco and recent injuries. As a result, it will be particularly difficult for FC Bayern to start the second half of the season well.
After a difficult start to autumn everything seemed to be going according to plan on Säbener Straße. The Munich outfit capped off a record-breaking and overall successful first half of the season with a 2-0 victory over Schalke. But then a horrific message followed: first, Sadio Mané’s injury turned out to be more serious than expected, which is why the Senegalese will miss at least the games of the first second half of the season and is also in doubt for the group CL 16. This is just the tip of the iceberg however, given the injuries suffered by Hernández and Neuer, both of whom will not return this season.
In addition to physical wounds, there are also some mental wounds to heal. Joshua Kimmich in particular was very frustrated after the World Cup and revealed his fear of falling into a hole. But Müller, who played a disappointing tournament, and Jamal Musiala, who played well but had incredible bad luck, will still have to gnaw through events. In addition to the DFB stars, Choupo-Moting and Davies also failed at the start, although that was to be expected. Also, Benjamin Pavard has fallen out of favor with Les Bleus and Coman continues to chase his form and barely plays. Additionally, Mazraoui is struggling with injury concerns and missed the quarterfinals. With the exception of Upamecano, things are not going well for the Munich team who are still represented at the World Cup.
The World Cup tournament and injuries greatly dampened expectations. It is difficult to predict in what condition the Munich team will go in the second half of the season. Julian Nagelsmann is probably facing an even more difficult task than at the beginning of autumn.
Let’s take a closer look at Munich’s schedule for the start of the second half of the season and look at the initial hurdles the team is facing.
RB Leipzig (A) – 20 January
It couldn’t have been much worse for Monaco as the second half of the season began. Record champion must RB Leipzig and thus the team that was the strongest in the second half of the first half of the season. The Saxons have a very strong team and have always made things difficult for the Munich team, especially in their home games. The duel will be a touchstone for Bayern at the start. It is important that everyone involved is wide awake and focused on the Bundesliga.
1.FC Cologne (H) – 24 January
The home game against 1.FC Köln is obviously much easier on paper than the away game in Leipzig. The Monaco must be prepared for the goats who are very defensive. In this match, due to Cologne’s moderate performance in the first half of the season, there is a lot to be said for FCB, but it can also be a test of patience.
Eintracht Frankfurt (H) – 28 January
It continues for Bayern against Eintracht Frankfurt, which is an extremely complicated and inconvenient task. Hessians have repeatedly put Monaco in trouble in recent years and have beaten them here and there. This season the Frankfurters are more solid than ever. The reigning EL champions have some concerns over the expiring contracts of Kamada and N’Dicka. We have to wait and see how things develop here, but the team will certainly be bringing dangerous weapons to Monaco.
VfL Wolfsburg (A) – 5 February
Of the VfL Wolfsburg he’s kind of Bayern’s favorite opponent. This was especially true because Lewandowski particularly enjoyed scoring against Wolves. However, VfL are strong enough at home and have already caused problems for Bayern Munich in their own stadium. In general, Niko Kovac’s men showed an upward trend towards the end of the first half of the season. The team isn’t bad either. In short, there is still a lot to say for the champions of the record.
Bochum (H) – February 11th
In the first half of the season, Bayern completely dismantled VfL Bochum and defeated them 7-0. Last year, however, they lost spectacularly in Bochum with 2:4. An example that shows how different football matches can be. However, the fact that the game is at home and VfL are no longer as loud and euphoric as they were in the previous season speaks in favor of Munich. So a win is a must.
