Knowing that there will be two extra Champions League fixtures for Bayern Munich in February, with the Bayer Leverkusen encounter sandwiched in between them, the team are aware that at least keeping the six-point gap on top of the Bundesliga until then will be important. On Saturday, the Bavarians face league newcomers Holstein Kiel, as Last Word on Football brings you our Bayern Munich predicted lineup for the match.<\/p>\n
In the midweek game in Europe, coach Vincent Kompany went with a very strange lineup to say the least. Manuel Neuer was in goal. Joshua Kimmich, Kim Min-jae, Josip Stanisic, and Sacha Boey made up the back four. Meanwhile, Aleksandar Pavlovic was the lone holding midfielder, as Michael Olise, Thomas M\u00fcller, Leroy San\u00e9, Mathys Tel, and Harry Kane made up the front five.<\/p>\n
Read More: <\/strong>Yes We Kane: The Importance of a True Number Nine<\/a><\/p>\n That means that Kompany changed the tactical setup to a 4-1-4-1, with all of the players he thought were most likely to score the many goals Bayern were expected to need in order to have a chance to finish in the top eight of the league phase within the Champions League. He brought in Stanisic, Boey, Olise, M\u00fcller, and Tel for Leon Goretzka, Eric Dier, Serge Gnabry, Raphael Guerreiro, and Jamal Musiala.<\/p>\n The tactical plan backfired, as Bayern only won 3-1, falling well short of what was needed to make a serious run at the top eight. This time, the team will likely revert to its familiar 4-2-3-1 formation, given that there will not be a need to score an unusual number of goals against Kiel.<\/p>\nBayern Munich Recent Form and Tactics<\/h3>\n