Tuchel's injury-ravaged Bayern wary of Augsburg slip-up
Bayern fought to a 1-0 home win against Union Berlin on Wednesday, closing the gap with leaders Bayern Leverkusen to four points. The victory came at a price however, with defender Dayot Upamecano and midfielders Joshua Kimmich and Konrad Laimer picking up injuries.
While Kimmich may miss just one match, Laimer and Upamecano look likely to be out for several weeks. Tuchel lamented the bad luck with the injuries coming as defenders Kim Min-jae and Noussair Mazraoui are away on international duty.
The long-term absence of injured forward Serge Gnabry has increased Bayern's reliance on Harry Kane and Leroy Sane, but the club is really feeling the pinch in midfield and defence.
England defender Eric Dier made his Bayern debut on Wednesday, coming on at half-time to replace Upamecano. Admitting Dier was "thrown in the deep end", Tuchel praised the defender's "presence, confidence and experience" against Union and said the transfer has "already paid off".
Dier could be key against Augsburg, a side who have held their own against their illustrious Bavarian neighbours in recent seasons. First promoted to the Bundesliga in 2011, Augsburg have finished in the top half of the table just twice in their history.
Despite this, Bayern have lost two and drawn one of their past four league matches in Augsburg. The hosts are also on a hot streak since appointing Danish manager Jess Thorup in mid-October.
Thorup came in with the club hovering just one point above the relegation spots and has turned the club around. Augsburg have lost just three of 11 matches to pick up 16 points - the same amount as Champions League hopefuls Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund in that time.
Thorup said Thursday he "did not care so much about the past" and warned
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