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Bayern Munich vs. Napoli: probable line-ups, match stats and LIVE blog!

bundesliga.com, 30 July 2021, 23:15
Robert Lewandowski is expected to return for Bayern Munich but Napoli will be without Lorenzo Inisgne when the two teams meet on Saturday (kick-off: 3.30pm GMT+2).
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After a 2-0 defeat to Borussia Mönchengladbach, a 2-2 draw with Dutch champions Ajax and a 3-2 loss to Cologne, new Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann has at his disposal his strongest side of pre-season so far. Record-breaking 2020/21 top-scorer Lewandowski returns to lead the line, one of a number of UEFA Euro 2020 stars now back from their post-tournament breaks to feature. Although Germany internationals Joshua Kimmich and Manuel Neuer remain away, compatriots Leon Goretzka, Thomas Müller, Leroy Sane and Niklas Süle are all expected to come into the team, as should French right-back Benjamin Pavard. Fellow Frenchmen Kingsley Coman, Lucas Hernandez and Corentin Tolisso all miss out, however. Alphonso Davies and Chris Richards are also sidelined through injury, which means summer arrival Omar Richards should continue settling into life on the left-side of Bayern's defence.

Napoli have a new man in charge themselves, with Luciano Spalletti appointed ahead of the new campaign in place of outgoing head coach Gennaro Gattuso. Spalletti was dealt a pre-season blow this week in the form of injury to one-cap Germany international Diego Demme, with the former Arminia Bielefeld, Paderborn and RB Leipzig player spraining his knee in Saturday's 1-0 victory over Pro Vercelli. UEFA Euro 2020 winning trio Lorenzo Insigne, Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Alex Meret are all still enjoying a well-earned break, as is goalkeeper David Ospina after finishing third at this summer's Copa America tournament. Hirving Lozano and Dries Mertens are two more big names that miss out for the Italians, who will look to Nigeria international Victor Osimhen - who made his professional debut in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg - to power them in attack.

Match stats

Lewandowski scored a record 41 goals in 29 Bundesliga outings last term, breaking Gerd Müller's 49-year-old best-mark of 40 strikes in a single season.

Of Nagelsmann's 32 European meetings as a coach (26 in the UEFA Champions League, six in the Europa League), not once has he faced Italian opposition.

These teams have met four times in competitive fixtures, with the overall results split down the middle after a win apiece and two draws. A Diego Maradonna-inspired Napoli did, however, get the better of Bayern over two legs in the semi-final of the 1988/89 UEFA Cup before beating VfB Stuttgart in the final to claim the Naples outfit's sole European triumph in their history.

Demme played in five of Leipzig's six matches en route to the DFB Cup final in 2018/19 but was an unused substitute for the 3-0 defeat to Bayern in the showpiece.

Osimhen featured 16 times for Wolfsburg - 14 in the Bundesliga - without finding the back of the net for the Wolves.

One of those appearances came in the final minute of the 2016/17 Bundesliga promotion/relegation playoff second-leg as Wolfsburg secured survival with 2-0 aggregate win over Eintracht Braunschweig.

Probable line-ups

Bayern: Ulreich - Pavard, Süle, Upamecano, O. Richards - Nianzou, Goretzka - Gnabry, Müller (c), Sane - Lewandowski

Out: Davies (ankle), Früchtl (collarbone), Hernandez (knee), Roca (ankle), Tolisso (not included)

Doubtful: Coman (thigh), C. Richards (muscular), Scott (thigh)

Coach: Julian Nagelsmann

Napoli: Contini - Zanoli, Rrahmani, Koulibaly (c), Rui - Lobotka, Zielinski - Zedadka, Ounas, Politano - Osimhen

Out: Demme (knee), Ghoulam (knee), Lozano (concussion), Mertens (shoulder)

Doubtful: -

Coach: Luciano Spalletti

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