Assessing Bayern Munich's Options to Replace Badstuber for Manchester City Game
Bayern Munich fans held their collective breath on Saturday when Holger Badstuber went down with an injury. The centre-back, who missed 19 months of action after repeated anterior cruciate ligament tears in his knee, appeared to sustain another injury in the near vicinity of his twice-repaired joint.
The good news is that, according to the Bayern Twitter account (h/t Deutsche Welle), Badstuber's injury in his club's 2-0 win against Stuttgart was muscular. The bad news is that the Munich giants will have to manage without the 25-year-old against Manchester City on Wednesday.
In Pep Guardiola's lineup, Badstuber started Saturday's match as part of a three-man defense alongside fellow interior defenders Dante and Jerome Boateng. After the centre-back's 43rd-minute substitution, captain Philipp Lahm dropped back into the defense and held the line well enough against what proved to be a toothless Stuttgart attack.
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Bayern face a whole new level of threat on Wednesday as they play host to Manchester City in the Champions League. The Premier League champions have a wide range of attacking threats, like Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, Stevan Jovetic, David Silva, Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri. Among a squad that has been blighted by injuries, Guardiola has three options to replace Badstuber:
Philipp Lahm
Having replaced Badstuber over the weekend, Lahm is the most likely candidate to be given the nod on Wednesday. The captain is an entirely different player from the man for whom he stood in, standing 20 cm shorter and being a natural full-back. However, he has his own virtues.
At nearly 31 years of age, Lahm is supremely experienced. He's won nearly every trophy he could during his senior career and is still at the top of his game. Although diminutive in stature, he's a great tackler with sublime positional instincts.
On the downside, Lahm could be a weak spot in an interior position if City are to aim crosses towards the right of the Bayern back line. The former Germany international never has been and never will be all that great in the air and could be a soft spot if forced to defend against a cross towards a giant like Dzeko.
David Alaba
Used as a third centre-back for a spell in August, David Alaba has since plied his trade more often than not in midfield. Still, he remains an option for Guardiola at the back and may be more appropriate than Lahm against a physical City side.
Alaba is taller, faster and of a more sturdy build than Lahm. If any of Bayern's defensive options has the pace to keep up with Aguero, it's the Austrian. In this regard, Alaba is a unique asset to Guardiola in defense, a player who can be used in a very precise role.
Like Lahm, however, Alaba would in all likelihood lose an aerial duel with Dzeko. And perhaps it's no coincidence that the ex-Austria Wien man's last use in central defense was in the Superpokal, in which a poor challenge set up Henrikh Mkhitaryan's opener. If Guardiola is to use a natural full-back in central defense, recent history would suggest it's more likely to be Lahm than Alaba.
Mehdi Benatia
The natural decision for replacing Badstuber would most certainly be Mehdi Benatia. The new signing from Roma was brought into the squad after an injury that will see Javi Martinez—used almost exclusively in central defense by Guardiola—miss the majority of the season. Theoretically, Benatia should be the man to come in for Badstuber, with Bayern having him as the only fit, natural centre-back in the squad aside from sure starters Boateng and Dante.
Standing at a towering 1.91 metres, and having developed his game in the very physical French Ligue 2, Benatia is an entirely different option from Lahm and Alaba and one whose skill set is more appropriate for taking on an athletic City attack. He also offers plenty of skill on the ball.
The problem with Benatia is, he's yet to play even a minute in a Bayern shirt. In fact, he hasn't played competitively for club or country since the end of last season. Although the best fit and a top-class centre-back, using Benatia against City is a risk Guardiola may not be willing to take. That may explain why the Moroccan defender was not used to replace Badstuber over the weekend.
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