VfL Wolfsburg are ready to take full advantage of an
injury-weakened Bayern Munich when they face last season's domestic double
winners in the Bundesliga kickoff on Friday.
Bayern have had a difficult pre-season, losing a string of
players to injury and forcing club bosses to review their transfer options and
Wolfsburg are eyeing an opportuinty.
"We are going into this game with the best possible
attitude and when they show any sign of weakness then we want to be right
there," Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking told reporters.
"We should not make ourselves smaller than we actually
are. But we will need a really good day to get Bayern into trouble."
Hecking knows only too well that after Wolfsburg's spending
spree which saw the likes of Nicklas Bendtner, Josuha Guilavogui and Aaron Hunt
arrive at the club during the summer, expectations are higher than last season.
The Volkswagen-owned club will be chasing a Champions League
spot this time to improve on last season's fifth place.
A surprise result in Munich would be the best possible
statement of intent.
The champions are without holding midfielder Javi Martinez,
out for the rest of the year with a torn cruciate ligament, as well as
suspended Jerome Boateng.
With captain Philipp Lahm in midfield, coach Pep Guardiola
will have to rebuild his entire backline with Brazilian Dante and Holger
Badstuber set to come in.
"Wolfsburg are extremely dangerous and have brought in
a lot of potential," Badstuber, who could make his league comeback after
18 months and two consecutive torn cruciate ligaments.
"They have a lot of hungry players who want to go very
far."
INJURY WOES
Badstuber may be an option again for the left back position
but Guardiola will be without injured right back Rafinha and playmaker Bastian
Schweinsteiger while winger Franck Ribery will also miss the game through
injury.
Midfielder Thiago Alcantara is also expected to be out for
several more weeks while Bayern's World Cup winners are far from battle-ready
after a long summer.
"We still need some time," Guardiola said days ago
with Bayern losing the German Super Cup to Borussia Dortmund but bouncing back
to advance in the German Cup. "We may have some problems until the winter
break," said the Spaniard.
Last season's runners-up Dortmund also have a tough first
game against Bayer Leverkusen who will be buoyed by their midweek 3-2 win at
Copenhagen for the Champions League qualifying round first leg.
They have winger Marco Reus back from an injury that saw him
miss the World Cup as well as central defender Neven Subotic, who missed most
of last season with a cruciate ligament tear.
But coach Juergen Klopp will miss injured Marcel Schmelzer,
Oliver Kirch and midfielder Ilkay Guendogan, still working on his comeback
after missing last season due to a back injury.
"In Dortmund they are talking about troubling Bayern
and we in turn want to trouble Dortmund," said Leverkusen sports director
Rudi Voeller.
Leverkusen boosted their squad with striker Josip Drmic,
hugely talented midfielder Hakan Calhanoglou and Brazilian Wendell and their
attacking spirit was more than evident against Copehangen on Tuesday when they
came from 2-1 down to win.
Schalke 04, third last season, want to make amends for their
shock German Cup exit this week against third-tier Dynamo Dresden, with coach
Jens Keller already under pressure even before they face Hanover 96 in their
season opener.
Promoted minnows Paderborn, with a squad worth just over
five million euros compared to the 500-million plus of Bayern, host Mainz 05 in
their Bundesliga debut while Hamburg SV face promoted Cologne.
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