Carlo Ancelotti may have a headache tomorrow no matter what the outcome of his side’s trip to Hamburg.
The Italian coach is bidding to win an eighth straight game since taking the Bayern reins in the summer and his reward would be a night out with his team at Munich’s beer festival.
Ancelotti says he would drink more than the two litres he had on a visit to the Oktoberfest with his coaching staff on Thursday.
“I’m feeling perfect today, I only had two (steins),” Ancelotti said at a press conference yesterday.
“Maybe I will have three on Saturday (today).”
Defeat, however, would give him a headache of a different kind as he contemplates how to get his team back on track for the trip to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League next week.
“We’re only focusing on this league game right now, but we are going to be rotating the team,” Ancelotti said.
“Rotation is important for two reasons: it’s good both for the physical and psychological aspects because I want motivated players.”
Manuel Neuer, Robert Lewandowski and Mats Hummels are three of the names Ancelotti is certain to put on his team sheet, while he also hinted that Joshua Kimmich, Renato Sanches and Kingsley Coman will start.
Hamburg coach Bruno Labbadia also has something of a headache with the pressure mounting on him after his side picked up just a point from their first four matches.
“I know how difficult it is to be a coach and I hope for the best for him,” said Ancelotti.
“I have never met him but I know he was a fantastic player,” Ancelotti said.
“Coaches are always under pressure – it’s normal.”
The best and perhaps only way for Labbadia to ease that pressure would be with a surprise win over Bayern Munich at the Volksparkstadion.
“We know our chances are not considerably high, but there is a small chance and we want to take it, of course,” said Labbadia.
He stressed that he is not letting the pressure get to him amid rumours of another managerial change being made in northern Germany, after Werder Bremen dismissed Viktor Skripnik a week ago.