After a week on the bench, South Korea’s “Iron Pillar” Kim Min-jae, who plays for Germany’s most prestigious club, Bayern Munich, is back on the bench.
Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel has opted to bring back Eric Dier and Mats Düricht, who have both been promoted to the starting lineup recently.
Munich will host Eintracht Frankfurt in the 31st round of the 2023-2024 German Bundesliga on Sunday at 10:30 p.m. ET at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. The Bavarians have not won the Bundesliga title since the 2011-2012 season, when they were crowned champions for the first time in 12 seasons. Leverkusen have already been crowned champions in the last 29 rounds.
All that’s left for Munich now is to finish in the top four, or better yet, hold on to their current second-place finish, which would secure them a UEFA Champions League spot for next season. Munich is in second place with 21 wins, three draws, and six losses (66 points). Leverkusen are on 80 points, followed by Stuttgart in third with 63 points. Leipzig is fourth with 59 points. The fifth-place finisher in the Bundesliga next season will likely qualify for the Champions League, but nothing has been decided yet. In fifth place is Borussia Dortmund with 57 points.
Their opponents, Eintracht Frankfurt, are in sixth place with 45 points. Neither team has a chance of qualifying for the Champions League, and will need to maintain their current position to secure a UEFA Europa League or Conference League spot next season.
The two teams meet for the final time this season. Munich is coming off a particularly embarrassing 1-5 away loss to Frankfurt on December 9 last year. From that game, it was clear that Munich would not win the Bundesliga this season.
This home game is a revenge match for Munich.
For this reason, Tuchel kept most of his regular squad for the UEFA Champions League semifinal first leg at home against Spanish giants Real Madrid three 메이저토토사이트 days later. No rotation. So did the center-back pairing.
Tuchel opted for world-class goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in goal, with Nusa Mazraw, Dier, Durich, and Josua Kimmich in a back four. The two defensive midfielders are Konrad Reimer and Leon Goretzka. The back three are Thomas Muller, Japhael Geheiro, and Erik Maxim Choupo-Moting. Harry Kane will start up top.
Frankfurt faces the home team in a 3-4-2-1 formation. Kevin Trapp is in goal, while the back three consists of William Pacho, Robin Koch, and Tuta. The midfield four are Eric Ebimbe, Mario Götze, Elias Skiri, and Aurelio Butada. The back three is Ansgar Knauf, Hugo Ekiteke, and Omar Marmusida.
Munich didn’t use all nine of their nominees on the day. Minjae Kim, Brian Zaragoza, Alfonso Davies, Sven Ulreich (goalkeeper), Zvonarek Lobro, Matthijs Tell, and Aleksandar Pavlovic are on the bench.
For Frankfurt, Donny van der Beek, on loan from Manchester United, is named in the squad.
Kim Min-jae started and played 59 minutes in the away match against Union Berlin a week ago on March 20, but was dropped again against Frankfurt. Against Berlin, Diricht’s form was poor, so Kim played 59 minutes and another center back, Dayo Upamecano, played the rest.
With Diricht back in form, Tuchel brought back his first-choice center-back pairing of Dier and Diricht, as if he was conscious of the away loss to Frankfurt.