Heynckes searching for solutions without Lewandowski and Muller

Dom Farrell

Heynckes searching for solutions without Lewandowski and Muller image

Jupp Heynckes has pledged to "find a solution" in Bayern Munich's attack after the Bundesliga champions travelled to face Celtic in Champions League Group B without Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller.

Muller was already ruled out due to a thigh problem and leading marksman Lewandowski — who has 14 goals in 16 games across all competitions this season — was replaced at half-time after scoring in Saturday's 2-0 Bundesliga win over RB Leipzig due to a similar complaint.

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Bayern will qualify for the last 16 if they win in Glasgow and group leaders Paris Saint-Germain avoid defeat at home to Anderlecht as expected, but veteran head coach Heynckes conceded he has a selection headache to cure.

"Obviously the injuries are unexpected," he told a pre-match news conference.

"However, I will find a solution. It is possible that I could play a 4-4-2 formation, with [Arjen] Robben and [Kingsley] Coman up front, or with these players on the wings and a false number nine. But I will make that decision on Tuesday. 

"All big teams face these difficulties, but we always find solutions and that's what we will do.

"My concern is to protect my players. Lewandowski is not 100 per cent fit, so it wouldn't make sense to play him."

Bayern have won four and drawn one — winning on penalties against Leipzig in the DFB-Pokal on that occasion — since Heynckes returned to the Allianz Arena to replace Carlo Ancelotti.

A chastening 3-0 defeat at PSG brought an abrupt end to the Italian's reign and, although he is wary of a hostile atmosphere at Celtic Park, Bayern defender Joshua Kimmich already has one eye on revenge when the Ligue 1 leaders travel to Bavaria at the start of December.

"I am really looking forward to the fantastic atmosphere here. Of course, it can put pressure on you," said the Germany international.

"Hopefully, it will be good but not too good as that it will mean Celtic are winning. We want to win this game also.

"We think we can beat Paris at home, so we can't make any mistakes. We have players out injured, but our aim is to win no matter what."

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.