Weekend Warm-up: It feels like Jamal Musiala will extend at Bayern Munich, but what teams could seriously attempt a steal? Let’s discuss; Throwing it back to Warren Zevon; Halloween candy GOATs; Bundesliga predictions; and MORE!

According to a report from CaughtOffside, there are plenty of top-tier clubs just waiting to talk to Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala.

While the youngster implied that he might be ready to ink a contract extension with Bayern Munich, it will not stop Manchester City, Real Madrid, Liverpool FC, and Chelsea FC from kicking the tires on trying to convince the Germany international to jump ship:

Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea are among the clubs monitoring the situation of Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala as he approaches the final year of his contract.

CaughtOffside understands that Manchester City have the strongest interest in Musiala at the moment, though his contract situation also has Liverpool, Man United, Chelsea and Real Madrid on alert.

City’s interest stems from the fact that they have Kevin De Bruyne in the final year of his contract and facing an uncertain future. Musiala could be an ideal long-term replacement for De Bruyne, but other big clubs can’t be ruled out either, with Liverpool also in the market for an elite attacking player like this as Mohamed Salah is in a similar situation to De Bruyne – in the final year of his contract and attracting interest from Saudi Arabia.

Maybe more than ever, it feels like Musiala is going to extend his deal with Bayern Munich. As part of that, the Bavarians are likely to make Musiala insanely rich, which should keep him happy for the next four-to-five years.

However, if Musiala were to jump ship…where would he be most likely to go. Let’s take a look at those aforementioned options:

1. Manchester City: This is a scary one because every major player seemingly want to play for Pep Guardiola at some point. When he leaves, though, the appeal of City will be far less. For now, though, the club is likely looking for its next-gen Kevin De Bruyne and Musiala could fit that bill (even if his game is different than De Bruyne’s). Given the money available, City could blow away Musiala with an offer (if it can avoid Financial Fair Play penalties).
2. Real Madrid: Well, it seems like Real Madrid wants to build a team full of young, pacey stars. Certainly, there is a pull to Madrid for a lot of players, but there might not be enough money or enough footballs for this to work.
3. Liverpool FC: The Reds will need a jolt and Musiala could be the centerpiece of a new generation for the club. Does he want that kind of responsibility…in England…at this point in his career?
4. Chelsea FC: This seems like the least likely option for a number of reasons — mostly because Chelsea had every opportunity to let Musiala progress to the the first team…but did not. The kids likely does not have a short memory.

Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show Season 4, Episode 16

Bayern Munich is back and looking powerful, but can it last? A lot of that will depend on how the team continues to come together over the course of this season.

Given that, there are several key issues that could play out in the coming weeks, which could affect some lineup decisions. Let’s talk about all of that and more:

• Jamal Musiala seems more like to extend his contract than ever. What does this mean for the squad planning process moving forward?
• If Leroy Sané is eventually unhappy at Bayern Munich this season, it looks like he will have the chance to skip town pretty easily.
• Are we witnessing the final months of Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer at Bayern Munich?
• The Entertainment Rundown.

Song of the Week: “Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon

Given that it is Halloween week, let’s celebrate with an oldie, but a great one — “Werewolves of London” by Warren Zevon. Released back in 1978, once you hear this song, you never really forget it.

Just this line alone makes the song, “A little old lady got mutilated late last night.” Enjoy (on this day after all of the spookiness). Enjoy:

Sidenote, when I was in 11th grade (attending an all-boys school where things were wild from day-today), we had a Chemistry teacher, who often played music as we worked on assignments. He also had a propensity for letting his chest hair hang out, which we found hilarious at the time for some reason.

Naturally, as we were taking a test once, my buddy drew a werewolf on the back of his test sheet with its chest hair hanging out.

Somehow, some way…the teacher got a laugh out of it. F’n kids man…

Impromptu Halloween Candy List — The Dirty Dozen…Embrace Debate!

Speaking of Halloween, it represents a season where I get to sneak some candy from whatever haul my kid’s get. Let’s take a look at the Top 12 items I hope to see:

• Reese’s Take 5: A (relatively) new age star, this candy combines the best of a few key ingredients — milk chocolate, peanut butter, pretzels, caramel…a Hall of Famer from the jump that was rebranded to be a part of the Reese’s tree of candies a few years ago.
• Whatchamacallit: An underdog and underplayed delight…if I see one of these in the bag, I stake a quick claim! If you want a sneaky great bar that is off-the-radar, too, check the bastard son of the Whatchamacallit…the Whozeewhatzit (also made by Hershey). It’s also really, really good.
• Reese’s Cups: A classic that would be a No. 1 seed for many folks.
• Reese’s Pieces: It wasn’t just E.T. who liked these!
• Snickers: Another Hall of Fame bar. The taste never gets old.
• Peanut Butter M&M’s: An improved version of the original M&M (which just lacks that extra kick).
• Peanut M&M’s: Similar to its Peanut Butter brethren, it’s an upgrade over regular M&Ms.
• Reese’s Sticks: Yup, another entry from the Reese’s family of candy. You won’t be disappointed if you try this one.
• 100 Grand: You don’t see this one that often any more, but it is terrific.
• Milky Way: Another bar that has stood the test of time.
• Rolo: Simple….chocolate + caramel = good times.
• Almond Joy / Mounds: You either are a staunch hater of these, or you are like me — a big fan. Go ahead…bring your hate:

Entertainment Rundown

The Penguin

Season 1, Episode 6 — “Gold Summit”

Another very solid episode for this show in what has been one of the surprises of the TV-watching season. Let’s dig in:

• Oz is feeling good about his business venture and operation and made a bold move to try and corner the market — all while frustrating the new Gigante-Maroni alliance.
• This was a big episode for Victor, who encountered an old nemesis, and performed his first real act of evil (running over Mafia henchmen notwithstanding). How this character develops from here could play a big role in how people ultimately view this series at the end of the season.
• If I had to say there is one thing that I do not like about the show, it is the focus on Oz’s mother, who is battling what appears to be several health issues, including dementia. Maybe it is because dementia is something that nearly everyone has a personal interaction with, but that storyline just seems to be dragging the show down a bit (though I am sure the purpose is to show us a different side of Oz).
• Oz convincing the gangs to unite under one umbrella to take on the Gigantes and the Maronis should make for an action packed final few episodes.
• Eve giving up Oz’s location was not a total shock, but what happens from here will be interesting to see. With the Gigante-Maroni alliance now having Oz in their crosshairs, things coud hot in Crown Point.
• Overall, another good episode where the storyline advanced in an entertaining way. This series has been a pleasant surprise.

Rating: 8.50/10.00

Daredevil

The latest incarnation of Daredevil is Disney-powered, but features all of the key players from the Netflix version. As a fan of the Netflix version, it will be interesting to see how this new version works out. Here is the first official trailer:

It

I was a fan of the two It movies and thought they were well done. The casting was perfect and the films captured everything that needed to be shown (thankfully, they ignored some of the more sordid — and frankly weird — parts of the book), along with nailing the nostalgia of the time period in Chapter One.

That said, the move to television for the prequel is very smart. If this iteration works, I think the showrunners will need to really explore the origin story of Pennywise and really flush that out.

Either way, I’ll be looking forward to this one:

Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show: Bayern Munich vs. Union Berlin

Bayern Munich will be looking to stay hot against Union Berlin in the Bundesliga.

The Bavarians need to continue to build momentum ahead of next week’s Champions League match against Benfica. Will there be a distraction? Will Bayern Munich look ahead? Let’s get right down to business and talk about the squads as they head into the match:

• Bayern Munich is seeking to continue build momentum, but will the squad start to earn a reputation for beating up on weaker teams.
• A look at the recent form of each team and where they fall in the Bundesliga table.
• A look at the rosters and injuries for Union Berlin and the Bayern Munich.
• A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI.
• A prediction on the match.

Predictions

Bundesliga

Bayern Munich is starting to roll once again, but a banged up backline is something to keep an eye on. However, in this match against Union Berlin, the frightening attack of the Bavarians looks like it rolling and likely cannot be stopped by Die Eisernen.

Nothing stops this train heading into a midweek showdown with Benfica in the Champions League.

Prediction: Bayern Munich 3-0 Union Berlin

Other Bundesliga Predictions:

• Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 VfB Stuttgart
• VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 FC Augsburg
• Borussia Dortmund 1-3 RB Leipzig
• SC Freiburg 2-0 Mainz 05
• Hoffenheim 1-0 St. Pauli
• Heidenheim 2-1 Holstein Kiel
• Eintracht Frankfurt 4-1 VfL Bochum
• Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-2 Werder Bremen

Champions League

With its performances in the UCL less-than-stellar so far, Bayern Munich needs to make a statement against a decent team. Benfica is the perfect kind of candidate for that task. Good, but not great, Benfica will present a higher level challenge than Union Berlin, Mainz 05, or VfL Bochum.

If — somehow — Bayern Munich does falter, the noise surrounding the team will get all the way turned up once again. In a weird way, this is a must win game for the Bavarians.

Prediction: Bayern Munich 3-1 Benfica

Other Champions League predictions include:

Prediction Records

• Last Week Bundesliga: 3-6 (Matchday 8)
• Overall Bundesliga: 34-38
• UEFA Nations League: 57-38
• Champions League: 31-23 (Through Matchday 2)
• DFB-Pokal: 36-12 (Through 2nd Round)
• Total: 158-111
• Perfect Picks: 26 (when the score and winner is predicted exactly)