Bayern Munich has had a tough go of late, earning a draw last weekend vs. Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga before losing to Aston Villa in the Champions League.
To show his support for the squad and the coaching staff, Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer hit the media to throw his backing behind the team.
“It was unnecessary to lose against Villa, but that happens. We have to win in Frankfurt on Sunday, then the world will look completely different again. Vincent Kompany is doing a great job, you can see that on the pitch. We run a lot, work hard, are much quicker on the ball, try to press higher. It’s a lot of fun to watch the team,” Hainer told Sky Sport journalist Kerry Hau (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
Was the loss to Aston Villa really unnecessary, though?
This Bayern Munich is loaded with its roster and might have more individual talent jam-packed into its locker room than any other team in the world. However, that does not mean that group is without flaws.
Perhaps, the low blocks implemented by both Bayer Leverkusen and Aston Villa were exactly what Bayern Munich needed to see at this moment to set it up for success later down the line. Prior to the Bayer Leverkusen match, things were — simply put — too easy.
The Bavarians were marauding over the competition and blasting any club silly enough to be on the pitch with them on a particular day. This season’s version of Bayer Leverkusen is not quite the irresistible force we saw last season, but it is still formidable. Meanwhile, Aston Villa was blazing for at least one day and executed its coach’s game plan with aplomb.
Maybe — for right now — it was necessary for this Bayern Munich team to be tested and to be exposed to styles that could cause problems down the road. The book might be out on how to slow down this Bayern Munich attack, but Kompany and his staff have the rest of season to develop a solution to combat that style.
Maybe…this is exactly what needed to happen at this moment.
Bavarian Podcast Works — Weekend Warm-up Show Season 4, Episode 12
Bayern Munich’s scorching start has hit a little bit of a bump in the road, so this weekend’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt figures to be an important one.
No one — and we mean no one — wants to see the Bavarians enter this break on a three-game winless streak, so let’s get moving!
How does everyone feel about things? Let’s discuss the state of it all. This is what we have on tap for this episode of the Weekend Warm-up Show:
- Breaking down the Vincent Kompany conundrum — it is okay to criticize him as he goes along the path of figuring out how to make Bayern Munich the best possible team it can be. However, it is far too early to jump off the bandwagon (unless you want to pull the Charlie Day “Wild Card” move…which is always acceptable).
- An injury to Jamal Musiala has some fans holding their collective breath.
- Analyzing the German national team roster selections and how things might play out. Also, taking a look at who got left out from Germany’s squad.
- A show wrap up that includes some final thoughts headed into the weekend, plus an update on the Game of Thrones re-watch.
Song of the Week: “Whoever You Are” by Geggy Tah
This is an often forgotten song from the late 90s (1996 to be specific) that got a ton of airplay in Philadelphia.
As quickly as it hit the scene, though, it disappeared here (most because the legendary 103.9 WDRE radio station flipped formats. I’ve talked about it before, but rarely has a station that was only around for a couple of years made such an incredible impact on a region).
Anyway, I was in an “obscure 90s” mood this week, so this fit the bill:
Entertainment Rundown
Game of Thrones
I am done!
I made it through the re-watch…the final two episodes are still infuriating, but I came away feeling better about the series overall. I am in the process of prepping both a column and podcast to discuss it, so stay tuned for that!
Stranger Things
This is really exciting news.
Stranger Things has been one of the most creative and fun series in recent years. It hits on everything from sci-fi to the unknown to 80s nostalgia. To see Frank Darabont (screenwriter for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors; director The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile) involved is great.
Aside of his film credits, Darabont was at the head of The Walking Dead when it was at its best — the first season and half.
‘The Shawshank Redemption’ director Frank Darabont reveals why he came out of retirement to direct episodes of ‘STRANGER THINGS’ Season 5.
“My wife and I really love this show… Our content now is so filled with horrible people doing horrible things for greedy reasons but… pic.twitter.com/YXCJSkNx6p
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 28, 2024
‘The Shawshank Redemption’ director Frank Darabont reveals why he came out of retirement to direct episodes of ‘STRANGER THINGS’ Season 5.
“My wife and I really love this show… Our content now is so filled with horrible people doing horrible things for greedy reasons but Stranger Things has so much heart”
That is kind of awesome, so I am now even more psyched for the return of Stranger Things.
Bavarian Podcast Works — Preview Show: Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich is coming off of two games without a win and will be looking to add three points to its total with a tough matchup on the road against Eintracht Frankfurt.
After earning a 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen and dropping a 1-0 decision to Aston Villa in the Champions League, Bayern Munich will seek to see its vaunted attacking group get back to its high-scoring ways.
That could prove to be a difficult task against a talented and dangerous Eintracht Frankfurt side, who is currently sitting in second place, just a point behind Bayern Munich. This is what we have on tap:
- Why this match will tell us a lot about both teams.
- A look at where each team is in the table and the recent form of each squad.
- A look at the rosters and injuries for Eintracht Frankfurt and the Bayern Munich.
- A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI.
- A prediction on the match.
Predictions
Bundesliga
Bayern Munich is (somewhat) reeling. Jamal Musiala is injured.
Things could be better.
While Eintracht Frankfurt presents a major challenge, the Bavarians should be well-equipped to deal with it. This is a match where Bayern Munich’s talent needs to step-up…and it will. Things might not be easy, but Bayern Munich should be able to pull out a road victory.
Prediction: Eintracht Frankfurt 1-2 Bayern Munich
Other Bundesliga Predictions:
- FC Augsburg 1-2 Borussia Mönchengladbach
- Union Berlin 1-3 Borussia Dortmund
- Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Holstein Kiel
- Werder Bremen 1-1 SC Freiburg
- VfL Bochum 0-2 VfL Wolfsburg
- St. Pauli 2-1 Mainz 05
- Heidenheim 1-3 RB Leipzig
- VfB Stuttgart 3-1 Hoffenheim
UEFA Nations League
- Israel 1-3 France
- Italy 2-1 Belgium
- England 3-0 Greece
- Finland 1-2 Ireland
- Austria 2-0 Kazakhstan
- Latvia 1-1 North Macedonia
- Gibraltar 1-1 San Marino
- Bosnia & Herzegovina 0-4 Germany
- Hungary 1-2 Netherlands
- Czechia 1-0 Albania
- Ukraine 1-2 Georgia
- Iceland 1-2 Wales
- Türkiye 3-0 Montenegro
- Estonia 1-1 Azerbaijan
- Slovakia 0-1 Sweden
- Croatia 3-0 Scotland
- Poland 0-2 Portugal
- Serbia 2-1 Switzerland
- Spain 3-0 Denmark
- Lithuania 1-2 Kosovo
- Cyprus 0-2 Romania
- Bulgaria 2-0 Luxembourg
- Belarus 1-0 Northern Ireland
- Finland 0-3 England
- Greece 2-1 Ireland
- Kazakhstan 0-3 Slovenia
- Austria 2-1 Norway
- Armenia 0-1 North Macedonia
- Faroe Islands 0-1 Latvia
- Liechtenstein 1-0 Gibraltar
- Belgium 1-3 France
- Italy 3-0 Israel
- Bosnia & Herzegovina 1-2 Hungary
- Germany 2-1 Netherlands
- Georgia 1-0 Albania
- Ukraine 1-1 Czechia
- Iceland 1-3 Türkiye
- Wales 3-0 Montenegro
- Azerbaijan 0-2 Slovakia
- Estonia 0-3 Sweden
- Poland 0-3 Croatia
- Scotland 0-3 Portugal
- Spain 3-1 Serbia
- Switzerland 2-1 Denmark
- Kosovo 3-0 Cyprus
- Lithuania 1-2 Romania
- Belarus 1-0 Luxembourg
- Northern Ireland 1-0 Bulgaria
Prediction Records
- Last Week Bundesliga: 4-5
- Overall Bundesliga: 22-23
- UEFA Nations League: 23-20
- Champions League: 21-15
- DFB-Pokal: 26-6
- Total: 92-64
- Perfect Picks: 14 (when the score and winner is predicted exactly)
