Tuchel demands a strong show as Bayern braces for Stuttgart
Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel insists his side will “give everything” to earn victory over fellow high-flyer Stuttgart in their upcoming Bundesliga clash.
Bayern bounced back from a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt with a 1-0 win over Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League thanks to a second-half strike from Kingsley Coman and Tuchel’s side will be looking to set the record straight in the league again, with leader Bayer Leverkusen now four points clear.
Stuttgart sits just one point behind beneath second-placed Munich and third-placed RB Leipzig, but could leapfrog from fourth to second with victory at Allianz Arena.
Tuchel thinks Sebastian Hoeness’s team deserves its lofty placing because of its consistent performances.
“They’re very consistent. Together they’re greater than the sum of their parts. They deserve to be up where they are. They’re very homogeneous, tactically very flexible,” he said.
“It’s impressive how Stuttgart play. You can see Sebastian’s mark on the team. I think Stuttgart have had a consistent over performance, so there must be good unity between the team and the coach.
“It’s completely deserved, so we’ll give everything our greatest respect and recognise that.”
Coman and Noussair Mazraoui both featured at Old Trafford in midweek but picked up injuries and were subsequently substituted which will rule them out of the Stuttgart clash.
The pair will join Serge Gnabry on the sidelines but Tuchel will be hoping to have top scorer Harry Kane in his ranks after the England captain suffered an illness.
Tuchel continued: “We’ve got tough games. The fixture list is how it is, we know it beforehand.
“The two injuries on our right side hurt us. They were both in good form. King has had a very good season so far. Nous too.
“It came out of nowhere and hurts because both are important players.
“Harry Kane is a bit ill. We hope he can train again tomorrow. Jamal Musiala is fine.”
Bayern will be looking to extend its unbeaten run at home with a return to winning ways but Tuchel thinks his side needs to be at its best to earn a result.
He added: “Everyone wants minutes. It’s even more important now we don’t have as much competition for places that the intrinsic motivation is high.
“We showed that at Old Trafford. It needs to be there again on Sunday. If we won’t match that with the same spirit as Stuttgart show every game, then we won’t win.”
