The Spaniard believes “anything can happen” when the Bavarians visit the SGL Arena on Wednesday, while winger Arjen Robben predicts a difficult game
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has talked up the importance of Wednesday’s DFB-Pokal clash with Augsburg, claiming it is more important than the upcoming Club World Cup.
The Allianz Arena side qualified for the inter-continental tournament, which takes place later this month, having won the Champions League in 2012-13.
But Guardiola, whose Bavarians won the domestic cup competition last season to cap off their treble-winning season, thinks that the last-16 tie with Augsburg is the biggest game left in 2013 for the club.
“We still have the Club World Cup but, for me, this is the most important game before the winter break,” he told the club’s official website. “It’s like a final!
“The DFB-Pokal can be very dangerous. It’s just a game and anything can happen, especially against a team like Augsburg.
“They’re a very combative and strong team physically, they’re great on the counterattack too.”
Robben agrees with Guardiola’s assessment that their fellow Bundesliga side could pose a serious threat to their potential progress into the quarter-final stage for the 11th time in 12 campaigns.
“Augsburg have played a solid season so far,” the Dutch winger said. “Plus, they’re playing at home. This will be a difficult game.”
The clash at the SGL Arena kicks off at 20:30CET, which will be followed up by league clashes against Werder Bremen and Hamburg before die Roten jet off to Morocco for the Club World Cup.