Guardiola Admits Wolfsburg Is Tough

Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola prepares his team to take on Wolfsburg this weekend. Ahead of the match, the former Barcelona manager has admitted that this will be a very tough match for his team. This will be the opening match of the season and Bayern start their title defence with this home match. Guardiola won the league title in his first season, but he has a lot of expectations to live up to after failing badly in the Champions League. Winning the league is almost expected of Bayern this campaign due to the enormous strength in depth.

Even though the club lost Mario Mandzukic in the summer, they brought in Robert Lewandowski on a free transfer. The former Borussia Dortmund striker has been one of the best forwards in Germany, and indeed the world, for the last five years. Compared with Mandzukic, who is a more physical player, Lewandowski is expected to be the perfect striker for a Guardiola team that tries to play the ball on the floor. The possession style of football led to some criticism last season after his team suffered an embarrassing defeat against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals, but the addition of Lewandowski is expected to significantly alter their strength with regard to this type of game.

“It’s not going to be easy for us. We’re immediately up against one of the best teams in the Bundesliga. It’s not an ideal situation for us, but that’s okay – we’re patient and I’m not complaining. I’ve got no midfielders. It’s not going to be an easy start for us. It’s going to be dangerous – very, very difficult. If we can be in a good position at the winter break, then we can have a good season,” said the Bayern Munich boss, who has to deal with a number of injury problems.