Germany League - Bundesliga Prediction Thread

[Zoomic]

Manuel Neuer has sustained a partial tendon tear in his right foot, Bayern confirm.

The goalkeeper will not be back before January.
Fabrizio Romano



A partial tendon tear is quite a serious injury and may require a long recovery period. Considering that Neuer is now 40 and will turn 41 next March, I think this is a clear indication that he may be approaching the end of his career. Obviously, Urbig is set to become the first choice goalkeeper now, but Bayern should already be thinking about signing a good, reliable backup goalkeeper.

Manuel Neuer has really contributed a whole to not just Bayern Munich as a club but football in general. I think it's time he should call it a day in his trophy-laden career. Urbig is Bayern Munich's first choice goalkeeper at the moment and I don't see that changing when Neuer returns from injury.

I'll be surprised to see him remain at the club beyond the end of the current season. I hope he recovers from the injury but he should know that he's gone past his prime and can barely perform at top level again.

[tiCeR]

Manuel Neuer has sustained a partial tendon tear in his right foot, Bayern confirm.

The goalkeeper will not be back before January.
Fabrizio Romano



A partial tendon tear is quite a serious injury and may require a long recovery period. Considering that Neuer is now 40 and will turn 41 next March, I think this is a clear indication that he may be approaching the end of his career. Obviously, Urbig is set to become the first choice goalkeeper now, but Bayern should already be thinking about signing a good, reliable backup goalkeeper.

It is very obviously time for him to step down soon. The total time injured during his career now amounts to almost four years in total. Yes he has had a long career and injuries are part of the game, but I think that says a lot about his health status. And it is not very helpful for Urbig when he never gets this certainty that he will be the number one goalkeeper for a season because Neuer may or may not recover. Neuer is also suffering more and more from injuries without external impact. It is just that the bones and tendons react, are affected by inflammation and then lead to those injuries. That's definitely one of the most important signs that he has reached the limit. What I am now surprised about is that there are still experts who claim that a healthy Neuer is still the best goalkeeper in the world. I totally disagree. He hasn't been the Neuer he used to be ten years ago. He can still be on a high level, but the times when he brought forward this whole new goalkeeper game have now long been over in my opinion.

[Ndabagi01]

Bayern might be a big team but Leipzig can build enough motivation to challenge them for a possible win. No team is immune to losses it takes determination, coordination and team work to keep a club moving. If Leipzig are bent on improving they can regardless of financial constraint. Even against City in the Champions League Leipzig did put an incredible fight, my most amazing was that of Antonio Nusa. There is hope for them if they keep up the improvement .

Bayern Munich is already the team everyone is looking forward to win the Bundesliga but I still think that other teams can challenge them for the title if they try their best and put in the best of performance. I have been observing the game of Leipzig and it has been very great and interesting. Keeping up with this performance will give them an edge over other contestants in the title race. Things will unfold more for us to actually see which teams are the best for the title race. Bayern Munich won’t win it in a platter gold like they have always won it in the past.

[Cryptmuster]

It’s unfortunate for Neuer, but in my view, it’s not a major issue for Bayern. Neuer hasn’t performed above an average level for a long time, this season, playing for a team as strong as Bayern, he is conceding an average of one goal per game - both in the Bundesliga and the Champions League. Bayern’s management has dragged its feet on replacing him, perhaps an injury will actually prompt a resolution to this issue. Bayern currently has a squad that is close to ideal, having a goalkeeper of a matching caliber would be a huge help to them.

I completely agree, although a goalkeeper's career can often extend until the age of 40, or even a little beyond, but Neuer's level of performance is starting to fall behind the rest of the team. I hope this injury will push Bayern to find a top quality goalkeeper. Unfortunately Urbig also concedes quite a lot of goals, and when he's in goal, I don't feel particularly confident about Bayern's defence.

[mv1986]

~

It’s unfortunate for Neuer, but in my view, it’s not a major issue for Bayern. Neuer hasn’t performed above an average level for a long time, this season, playing for a team as strong as Bayern, he is conceding an average of one goal per game - both in the Bundesliga and the Champions League. Bayern’s management has dragged its feet on replacing him, perhaps an injury will actually prompt a resolution to this issue. Bayern currently has a squad that is close to ideal, having a goalkeeper of a matching caliber would be a huge help to them.

Close to ideal if they didn't have those injuries and I think it once again becomes obvious how important depth is. I have never been more of a Diaz fan than now. I know he played for Liverpool, but I think he found his real role while playing for Bayern. What a fighter that guy has become, too bad he is now injured. I am not the biggest fan of Gnabry, but one injury comes to the next for them at the moment and this can become a problem later down the road.


I agree though that Neuer is not a big loss for them. His goalkeeper game that he personally introduced in the early 2010s hasn't been part of his game for many years now. He was an additional defender, but these days he has mostly remained a box player like most other goalkeepers. So this additional quality that he brought into the game wasn't there anyway. I wonder if they go all in on Urbig or whether they are trying to go for a big transfer next summer, but signing one of the greatest goalkeepers is often times close to impossible.

[Lannakosa]

Manuel Neuer has really contributed a whole to not just Bayern Munich as a club but football in general. I think it's time he should call it a day in his trophy-laden career. Urbig is Bayern Munich's first choice goalkeeper at the moment and I don't see that changing when Neuer returns from injury.

I'll be surprised to see him remain at the club beyond the end of the current season. I hope he recovers from the injury but he should know that he's gone past his prime and can barely perform at top level again.

Bayern have already started looking for a new goalkeeper who could either replace Neuer. There are also reports that Neuer could retire at the end of this year, although nothing has been officially confirmed yet.

At the moment, Bayern are considering three candidates to replace Neuer: Oliver Baumann, Bernd Leno and Loris Karius. Baumann from Hoffenheim is reportedly the leading candidate and the one Bayern would most like to sign. It's strange that they are also considering Karius, perhaps they were impressed by his performance in the 0-0 draw against Schalke, where they failed to score. But I don't think he's particularly good as a goalkeeper, and he tends to concede quite a lot of goals in other matches.

[Black Mbaye]

It’s unfortunate for Neuer, but in my view, it’s not a major issue for Bayern. Neuer hasn’t performed above an average level for a long time, this season, playing for a team as strong as Bayern, he is conceding an average of one goal per game - both in the Bundesliga and the Champions League. Bayern’s management has dragged its feet on replacing him, perhaps an injury will actually prompt a resolution to this issue. Bayern currently has a squad that is close to ideal, having a goalkeeper of a matching caliber would be a huge help to them.

I completely agree, although a goalkeeper's career can often extend until the age of 40, or even a little beyond, but Neuer's level of performance is starting to fall behind the rest of the team. I hope this injury will push Bayern to find a top quality goalkeeper. Unfortunately Urbig also concedes quite a lot of goals, and when he's in goal, I don't feel particularly confident about Bayern's defence.

Bayern Munich already needs a goalkeeper because Neuer is getting old and we expected his performance to gradually decline. Bayern Munich will probably be looking for one, and it should be one of the best goalkeepers. It also needs to be young. I don't know who they'll sign, but a goalkeeper is a long-term investment for Bayern. Therefore, they this need quickly and sign a new goalkeeper during the January transfer window, in my opinion.

[KTChampions]

It’s unfortunate for Neuer, but in my view, it’s not a major issue for Bayern. Neuer hasn’t performed above an average level for a long time, this season, playing for a team as strong as Bayern, he is conceding an average of one goal per game - both in the Bundesliga and the Champions League. Bayern’s management has dragged its feet on replacing him, perhaps an injury will actually prompt a resolution to this issue. Bayern currently has a squad that is close to ideal, having a goalkeeper of a matching caliber would be a huge help to them.

Neuer had been an exceptional goalkeeper wining golden gloves in 2014 world cup and 5 times IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper but his age was slowly showing up. I too think its time Bayern looks for his alternative. He made an record of oldest player playing with Bayern Munich.
Jonas Urbig is a keeper with great potential, he did conceded a late game goal in the last game after replacing Neuer but he has potential if developed the right way. With the absence of Neuer, he'll get enough exposure and experience but Bayern couldn't just experiment for a long time on the league, if Urbig seems incapable, they might quickly need to find a replacement.

For Neuer, the turning point was when he went skiing (damn idiot, such a risky holiday in the middle of the season) and got injured and was out for a whole year. It seems to me that, even back then , he should have considered ending his career, but no one wants to do that because of an injury, and he didn’t want to either. By the way, Polymarket has a market dedicated to the probability that a player will retire at the end of the season:
https://polymarket.com/event/which-players-will-retire-before-1-july-2027
For Neuer, the probability is 25%, but the liquidity is so negligible that I wouldn’t rely on this figure. I suspect it should be higher.

[Davidloki]

Bayern Munich is already the team everyone is looking forward to win the Bundesliga but I still think that other teams can challenge them for the title if they try their best and put in the best of performance. I have been observing the game of Leipzig and it has been very great and interesting. Keeping up with this performance will give them an edge over other contestants in the title race. Things will unfold more for us to actually see which teams are the best for the title race. Bayern Munich won’t win it in a platter gold like they have always won it in the past.

We would need till the second half of the season to see which direction the league cup is going, but for now I would say that Bayern Munich is looking like the favorite to win the league. Borussia Dortmund is also a possible contender ahead of Leipzig in my opinion but the league is full of surprises and we could see a different outcome.

I have always known that this season would not be as easy as it was last season, teams are becoming more competitive this season.

[knowngunman]

I completely agree, although a goalkeeper's career can often extend until the age of 40, or even a little beyond, but Neuer's level of performance is starting to fall behind the rest of the team. I hope this injury will push Bayern to find a top quality goalkeeper. Unfortunately Urbig also concedes quite a lot of goals, and when he's in goal, I don't feel particularly confident about Bayern's defence.

The truth is at 40, not much should be expected from a goalkeeper again. We can not even argue it, Neuer is a legend goalkeeper and one of the best ever but age can catch up with everyone and you'll gradually lose your form no matter how good you were. He wasn't like this when he was young with hot blood. Bayern Munich supposed to have looked for a better replacement long time ago. They were too dependent and relied on him without thinking about the future. Even if you have top class players in your team and the goalkeeper is not reliable, you have a bigger problem. Bayern Munich should not be searching for a good goalkeeper when they are supposed to be focusing on winning trophies.

[kennycryptoitalia]

I completely agree, although a goalkeeper's career can often extend until the age of 40, or even a little beyond, but Neuer's level of performance is starting to fall behind the rest of the team. I hope this injury will push Bayern to find a top quality goalkeeper. Unfortunately Urbig also concedes quite a lot of goals, and when he's in goal, I don't feel particularly confident about Bayern's defence.

Neuer was a great goalkeeper but he can no longer compete with the kids who are there today, for example Donnarumma is already startng to be too old to play and his age is older than average, obviously not all goalkeepers manage to stay at a good level despite their age, but only the best manage to reach the age of 40.

[Primark]

I completely agree, although a goalkeeper's career can often extend until the age of 40, or even a little beyond, but Neuer's level of performance is starting to fall behind the rest of the team. I hope this injury will push Bayern to find a top quality goalkeeper. Unfortunately Urbig also concedes quite a lot of goals, and when he's in goal, I don't feel particularly confident about Bayern's defence.

The truth is at 40, not much should be expected from a goalkeeper again. We can not even argue it, Neuer is a legend goalkeeper and one of the best ever but age can catch up with everyone and you'll gradually lose your form no matter how good you were. He wasn't like this when he was young with hot blood. Bayern Munich supposed to have looked for a better replacement long time ago. They were too dependent and relied on him without thinking about the future. Even if you have top class players in your team and the goalkeeper is not reliable, you have a bigger problem. Bayern Munich should not be searching for a good goalkeeper when they are supposed to be focusing on winning trophies.

Physical ability can decrease with age. However, you can't expect much from a goalkeeper at the age of 40, this is not true for everyone. Rather, before saying what you are saying, you have to judge the goalkeeper's skills, injuries and performance separately. In Neuer's current situation, age is not causing him any problems, but rather his recent injuries are the problem. Especially in his right leg, he is not able to fully recover after the previous problem, as he has injured the same part again. The positive aspect for Bayern here is that they have already included young goalkeeper Urbig in the team. As a result, the task of creating an alternative to Neuer does not have to be done from scratch.

[pawel7777]

Neuer's injury could be a big blow fot Bayern, but I don't think it will make that much of a dent in their Bundesliga results. It could make a difference in big games, like the Champions League etc.
If the rumours are true, he will be out for around 6 rounds, expected to be back in January.
He will probably be replaced by Jonas Urbig, for whom it will be a chance to shine and convince the manager he is good enough to replace Neuer when he retires.

I'm hearing that Kompany has returned to Bayern's training ground today but it's not yet clear if he will lead the team in the next game.

[W Jr.]

I completely agree, although a goalkeeper's career can often extend until the age of 40, or even a little beyond, but Neuer's level of performance is starting to fall behind the rest of the team. I hope this injury will push Bayern to find a top quality goalkeeper. Unfortunately Urbig also concedes quite a lot of goals, and when he's in goal, I don't feel particularly confident about Bayern's defence.

Neuer was a great goalkeeper but he can no longer compete with the kids who are there today, for example Donnarumma is already startng to be too old to play and his age is older than average, obviously not all goalkeepers manage to stay at a good level despite their age, but only the best manage to reach the age of 40.

We say this, but there's a problem with top-level young goalkeepers in the world. Which team even has top level young goalkeepers? Courtois is the best in the world in my opinion, but he's over 34. Verbruggen is the only young and good goalkeeper I've seen, but I'm curious about Bayern's choice.

[uchegod-21]

Neuer had been an exceptional goalkeeper wining golden gloves in 2014 world cup and 5 times IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper but his age was slowly showing up. I too think its time Bayern looks for his alternative. He made an record of oldest player playing with Bayern Munich.
Jonas Urbig is a keeper with great potential, he did conceded a late game goal in the last game after replacing Neuer but he has potential if developed the right way. With the absence of Neuer, he'll get enough exposure and experience but Bayern couldn't just experiment for a long time on the league, if Urbig seems incapable, they might quickly need to find a replacement.

You are right, Manuel Neuer is an exceptional goalkeeper, he has won everything and has nothing left to prove. Other Bayern legends like Oliver Kahn have also advised him to retire as well. Although Neuer insisted that he's use to such set back, he stated that he's focused on recovering, and not rushing to retire at mid season.

Jonas Urbig is still a young goal keeper, and he's not that experienced as Neuer, but if he should be given more time, he can develop more and maybe replace Neuer.

[Joca97]

Neuer's injury could be a big blow fot Bayern, but I don't think it will make that much of a dent in their Bundesliga results. It could make a difference in big games, like the Champions League etc.
If the rumours are true, he will be out for around 6 rounds, expected to be back in January.
He will probably be replaced by Jonas Urbig, for whom it will be a chance to shine and convince the manager he is good enough to replace Neuer when he retires.

I'm hearing that Kompany has returned to Bayern's training ground today but it's not yet clear if he will lead the team in the next game.

This is a hit for Bayern Munich but i think Urbig will be a good replacement for Neuer. Neuer this season has already had a couple of mistakes and i think the rest will come handy to him. This is a great chance for Urbig to try and show that he can be the first goalkeeper and so far from what i watched him he was good. I think after the national break Kompany will be on the bench.

[Gost ms]

Neuer's injury could be a big blow fot Bayern, but I don't think it will make that much of a dent in their Bundesliga results. It could make a difference in big games, like the Champions League etc.
If the rumours are true, he will be out for around 6 rounds, expected to be back in January.
He will probably be replaced by Jonas Urbig, for whom it will be a chance to shine and convince the manager he is good enough to replace Neuer when he retires.

I'm hearing that Kompany has returned to Bayern's training ground today but it's not yet clear if he will lead the team in the next game.

This is a hit for Bayern Munich but i think Urbig will be a good replacement for Neuer. Neuer this season has already had a couple of mistakes and i think the rest will come handy to him. This is a great chance for Urbig to try and show that he can be the first goalkeeper and so far from what i watched him he was good. I think after the national break Kompany will be on the bench.

Yes I completely agree with you. A big way has opened for Urbig due to Nayar's injury. If Urbig gets a chance to play consistently now then he will definitely learn to handle pressure and will be able to improve his performance a lot. Urbig has played several matches and performed quite well, it is expected that he will be able to perform very well in Nayar's absence at present and will win everyone's hearts.

Nayar's absence will not only affect his performance but will also have a big impact on the team. Because he will be able to take decisions very quickly and is also very good at controlling himself under pressure and taking the right approach.

[Nheer]

Neuer's injury could be a big blow fot Bayern, but I don't think it will make that much of a dent in their Bundesliga results. It could make a difference in big games, like the Champions League etc.
If the rumours are true, he will be out for around 6 rounds, expected to be back in January.
He will probably be replaced by Jonas Urbig, for whom it will be a chance to shine and convince the manager he is good enough to replace Neuer when he retires.

I'm hearing that Kompany has returned to Bayern's training ground today but it's not yet clear if he will lead the team in the next game.

Bundesliga is never a problem for Bayern Munich, they could even go on to win it with their second team so Neuer missing out till January will have no effect on their local league performance. But just as you mentioned, the champions league is the major concern. When they face a much tougher opponent they will surely feel the difference but they're lucky he won't take too long to come back.
League phase shouldn't be an issue, they just need to manage and finish at top 8 and before the start of the knock out stages he should be back, it's the most important stage of the competition that they can't afford to lose any player.

Neuer is getting older and I think it's time for Bayern to start looking for a worthy replacement.