Bayern Munich’s Luis Díaz woes don’t end, do they?
The Colombian winger was set to miss the upcoming UEFA Champions League fixture against Portuguese side Sporting CP, owing to his earlier three-match,
now two-match ban in the CL. The harsh ban was handed during the Paris Saint-Germain fixture in early November following a sliding tackle to Achraf Hakimi. Diaz was further sorely missed during Bayern’s visit to the Emirates in late November, where the Rekordmeister fell 3-1 to an in-form Arsenal FC.
During the Bundesliga fixture on Matchday 13 against VfB Stuttgart, Díaz started on the left wing and pressed extremely well throughout. He did later in the game register an assist, for the goal that Josip Stanišić scored. However, at the 62nd minute, Diaz was run into by Ramon Hendricks from Stuttgart. The Colombian gave a slight shove to the Dutchman to which referee Tobias Stieler responded with a yellow card.
With his fifth yellow card of this season, Diaz will now be missing the upcoming home game at Mainz next week, according to @iMiaSanMia.
This means Díaz will play neither of Bayern’s fixtures next week, given he also has the ban at the CL.
So, how will Bayern Munich cover for the loss of such an important player? Head coach Vincent Kompany could look to several players:
- Serge Gnabry: Gnabry, who is nursing an injury, could be healthy for next week and could eat up some minutes, but given his status, it might not be too many. Still, if he can go, we have to assume that Gnabry will get at least some of that time.
- Lennart Karl: The wunderkind could be the biggest benefactor. With the imminent return of Jamal Musiala to the squad in January, Karl could find it tough to get the kind of minutes that he has gotten so far this season.
- Raphaël Guerreiro: The veteran did not have a great showing as the No. 10 vs. VfB Stuttgart, but has had a good season overall when being used as an attacker.
- Nicolas Jackson: Unimpressive so far, Jackson could be pushed in to the No. 9, while Kane drops to the No. 10.
- Wisdom Mike: While not with the team on Saturday vs. VfB Stuttgart, could he see some minutes from the absence of Díaz?
What do you say? Who should get the playing time? Will it be multiple players? Tell us who below….
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
