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BERLIN (Reuters) – With Julian Nagelsmann struggling with injury, Bayern Munich face RB Leipzig ahead of the Bundesliga restart on Friday.<\/p>\n
The Bayern manager will miss captain and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer with a broken leg, while defender Lucas Hern\u00e1ndez will miss the rest of the season after suffering a knee ligament injury during the World Cup.<\/p>\n
Fellow defender Nouser Mazrawi has also suffered heart complications from COVID-19 and has been suspended for several weeks.<\/p>\n
Forward Sadio Mane has just recovered from an injury that ruled him out of the tournament in Qatar and is not fit for Saturday.<\/p>\n
Bayern, who face Paris Saint-Germain in next month’s Champions League, lead the Bundesliga with 34 points, four ahead of second-placed Freiburg and six ahead of third-placed Leipzig.<\/p>\n
However, Leipzig have been unbeaten in the league since mid-September.<\/p>\n
“The nine points[against Leipzig]are a nice cushion if we win the game,” said Nagelsmann. “If you lose, it’s tighter and you put more pressure on it than if you win.”<\/p>\n
Nagelsmann also knows that a strong start to the league will prepare him for a big European game in February against 2020 winners, German champions PSG, who have failed to reach the quarter-finals in the past two seasons. I’m here.<\/p>\n
“It’s clear that we have a big challenge[against PSG]and how we do it will affect our performance,” Nagelsmann told reporters.<\/p>\n
“If we do well in the Bundesliga, we will be fully prepared for PSG. It’s a balanced match and the form of the day is decisive. We can get this form on the way to the league and the German Cup” agreed. increase. “<\/p>\n
Despite Dutch defender Daily Blind being brought in to close the gap at the back, there is still a great deal of uncertainty over the goalkeeper’s position.<\/p>\n
Sven Ulreich is set to start against Leipzig, but Bayern are desperately looking for a replacement for Neuer.<\/p>\n
Fellow Champions League club Borussia Dortmund are sixth with 25 points and play Augsburg on Sunday, while second-placed Freiburg face VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.<\/p>\n