Ryan Gravenberch expected to start for Bayern Munich vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
Gravenberch hasn’t gotten too many minutes for Bayern, but this will be a BIG chance for the Dutchman.
It’s no secret that Ryan Gravenberch has been unhappy with his playing time, or lack thereof, at Bayern Munich so far this season. He had made his frustrations known earlier on in the campaign, as he felt he would be playing more of a featured role for the club after joining from AFC Ajax along with Noussair Mazraoui.
He was an unused sub in Bayern’s 1-1 draw with RB Leipzig, but came on and played 45 minutes in the 1-1 draw vs. FC Koln, coming close to scoring with one opportunity he had midway through the second half. All in all, he’s clocked a total of 570 minutes from 18 appearances across all competitions, significantly less than he would’ve hoped to have tallied by this point when he made the move to Bayern.
A loan move this winter for Gravenberch has been ruled out by the club, even with interest from other clubs across Europe. Instead, it’s been suggested that he’s ready and willing to stay at Bayern and fight for a more regular place in Julian Nagelsmann’s selections. In fact, per new information from kicker, Nagelsmann is planning on starting Gravenberch in midfield for the weekend Bundesliga clash against Eintracht Frankfurt, who currently sit in 4th place in the league table, just five points behind Bayern. They’ll be coming off of a 1-1 draw themselves, which came at the hands of SC Freiburg.
In the draw vs. Koln, Gravenberch replaced Leon Goretzka at the halftime interval, but it is not yet clear if that is who he is going to supplant in the starting lineup against Frankfurt, though it is certainly presumed. Joshua Kimmich is rarely rotated out of the starting lineup and Nagelsmann wants to avoid another league match without a win, potentially replicating the slump they faced in the Hinrunde where they went four matches without a win. Kimmich could, in theory, get rotated out, but it’s more likely that Goretzka will be the one relegated to the bench to start with.
