Bayern München - VfL Wolfsburg

The highest League in Germany 1.Bundesliga open their gates this evening to start the new season 2014/15. The champion from last season Bayern Munich plays against one of the upcoming rivals VfL Wolfsburg. Although this encounter was very clear in recent years it can be a tough one for Bayern this time. In recent years they won all home matches against VfL very easy and with a big margin but to begin a new season you never know and it can be difficult after the World Cup according to their absent players.

What happen after a big tournament like World Cup or European Championship no one knows but we can take a look back and it was not always an easy start for Bayern. Sometimes they need a long time to get on rolling and also had hard times to reach in the end a Champions League spot. Ok, this is worst case now but with a lot of players returning late into team training and a lot of players are not at 100% it can be difficult. Also a long injury list helps them not much at the moment. A big problem is the position on the right back wing and in central midfield. After selling Kroos to Real Madrid they have big problems there because with Schweinsteiger, Martinez and Thiago are almost all out for this position. And Lahm is maybe needed on the back wing after the injury from Rafinha. They are searching for some replacements at the moment but it is not so easy above all other clubs know this and want more money for their players. Nevertheless this time Guardiola can only count on players who are there and ready, maybe he has to bring some new guys like Rode, youngster Gaudino or Alaba. Rode and Gaudino played already in Supercup against Dortmund and Bayern was far away to can hold the pressure high, so it is not the best option. Also in offensive is Ribery sure out and behind Robben is a big questionmark. It seems on all positions they have problems at the moment beside goal.

The VW Club from Wolfsburg invest again a lot and their aim is to get a CL spot this time after reaching the Euro League spot last season. OK, it must be seen how they handle to play two times in one week and if they get some injured players but the potential is of course there. I mentioned already if they get some injured players, I think the situation has come earlier as expected as with 1st keeper Benalgio, Peresic, Träsch, Ochs and Felipe are a few out. In Cup match against 2.Division team from Darmstadt they had to do hard work and they advanced after Penalty shot out. The 90 minutes or 120 maybe was not very good above all they had a lot of problems to break a deep and solid standing defensive line from Darmstadt. No idea to get through but this time they play an opponent where they try to stand good and solid and maybe start a few counter attacks over the fast de Bruyne or Olic. Some expect a very deep standing side from Wolfsburg, Coach Hecking tried to play with 3 central midfield players in training. This can be Gustavo, Guilavogui and Manada. Offensive he has some options with Hunt, Vierinha or Bendtner but last one is on bench for sure. In defensive he had a lot of problems because all back wings are injured with Ochs, Träsch and Jung above all in Cup must Vierinha play this position so it is good that Jung returns after injury. Benaglio will be replaced by Grün, he did it already in Cup and saved two penalties.

Both meet each other in Telekom Cup this pre-season already and Bayern won very easy although they played only 2x30 minutes. This time Wolfsburg will be much more prepared and they should not make the same mistakes again. I expect a very close match and therefore the HC -2 is set much to high for a season opener and the big problems who Bayern face at the moment against a team who has a lot of potential and the budget too.