Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 8y

Bayern Munich's Pep Guardiola wary of Bochum upset in DFB Pokal

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola is expecting an "aggressive" Bochum side when they meet in the DFB Pokal on Wednesday.

Bayern won back-to-back DFB Pokals in 2013 and 2014, but last year, amid an injury-crisis, crashed out of the competition with a penalty shoot-out defeat against Borussia Dortmund in the semifinals.

Philipp Lahm and Xabi Alonso both slipped, while Mario Gotze and Manuel Neuer were also unable to convert from the spot against rivals Dortmund.

This week, Bochum host the Bavarians in the quarterfinals, and Pep Guardiola expects the second-tier club to be an "aggressive opponent, in a sporting sense."

"They will not wait. They play a bit like Bayer Leverkusen. Gegenpressing. They have quick players on the wings and quality in the middle," Guardiola told reporters at his prematch news conference, and added that Bochum coach Gertjan Verbeek is "someone with a great intensity, and an interesting approach."

Full-back Rafinha is set to return to the Bayern squad while Guardiola has not ruled out Germany international Mario Gotze travelling to Bochum with the team.

He said: "I have to talk to the doctors about Franck [Ribery] and Mario. We'll decided after that. But maybe Mario is ahead of Franck, who only took part in one session."

With winter signing Serdar Tasci still lacking match fitness after the long break in Russia, Guardiola said that for now he has decided to continue playing youngster Joshua Kimmich at centre-back.

"He's always positive, concentrated and serious," the Catalan coach said. "His build-up play, his interpretation of certain situations, his distribution to the wings. He can certainly play on this position."

Guardiola left it open regarding whether the 21-year-old will return to a midfield role when more centre-backs are available.

The Catalan was not interested in commenting on the latest rumours linking Bayern attacker Robert Lewandowski with a switch away from the Allianz Arena, but rather highlighted the Poland international's professional attitude.

"He puts football above everything else. He eats healty and sleeps a lot to stay in top shape," Guardiola said, concluding: "He's one of the best professionals I have ever met. He is always playing, he is never injured."

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