Neuer and Sané fit to face Arsenal, Laimer to start ahead of Pavlovic

Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Manuel Neuer and Leroy Sané are fit to face Arsenal. He also revealed that Konrad Laimer is set to start in midfield ahead of Aleksandar Pavlovic.

After being rested for Bayern Munich’s 2-0 win over FC Köln at the weekend, Manuel Neuer and Leroy Sané are both available to face Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday.

That was confirmed by Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel at his pre-match press conference ahead of Wednesday’s quarter-final second leg at the Allianz Arena.

Sané’s availability is particularly important with Serge Gnabry and Kingsley Coman both out with injuries.

“Manuel Neuer and Leroy Sané can play. Due to the situation with Serge and King, Leroy will probably have to grit his teeth for as long as possible,” Tuchel told reporters.

After Aleksandar Pavlovic returned to the starting line-up against FC Köln following a spell on the sidelines, it’s been suggested that the youngster could retain his starting berth against Arsenal.

However, Tuchel insisted that his clear plan is to start Leon Goretzka and Konrad Laimer in the middle of the park, as he did in the first leg.

“Aleks hasn’t had any rhythm since the Darmstadt game, and you could tell. I’m tending towards putting him in the squad. But for now, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t take the two defensive midfielders from the first leg out,” Tuchel revealed.

Tuchel also said he hasn’t decided who will play at left-back, with Noussair Mazraoui and Raphael Guerreiro competing for the start in the absence of the suspended Alphonso Davies.

“We’re looking at the left-back position. We have an extra day to prepare. That’s good for us. Then I also need to speak to Noussair Mazraoui, he’s also had to grit his teeth lately. We’ll make the final decisions tonight,” Tuchel said.