The 2014-15 Bundesliga season is still a week away, but Bayern Munich return to the pitch today in hopes of successfully defending the German cup. The club is continuing its preparation for the upcoming campaign and will face third-division side Preussen Munster. The first-round battle scheduled for 10 a.m. ET will be held at Preussenstadion in Preussen and can be live streamed here free.
Though today will serve as the first competitive match for a myriad of German clubs, that won't be the case for Bayern Munich. The defending league champions featured in the German Supercup on Wednesday, falling 2-0 to Borussia Dortmund. Following the match, manager Pep Guardiola showed little concern. The Spanish native believes his side needs additional time to reach last season's form.
"Congratulations to Jurgen Klopp and his team," Guardiola told the club's official website (via Sky Sports). "We played well in the first 15 minutes, but we had a few problems after that. We dropped too deep in the second half. We still need time."
"The worst news is the serious injury sustained by Javi Martinez because he was in good form," he added. "We'll find out how bad it is on Thursday, but I think he'll be out for a long time."
The club would later confirm a complete tear of Martinez's ACL. The 25-year-old is expected to miss several months for recovery.
With no Martinez and the potential for further injury ahead of the season opener, expect a more pragmatic approach from Guardiola this afternoon. His projected starting lineup is as follows (3-4-3): Neuer; Boateng, Dante, Alaba; Hojbjerg, Lahm, Rode, Bernat; Muller, Lewandowski, Shaqiri.
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