Vincent Kompany is not thinking about the potential consequences of Bayern Munich exiting the Champions League to Inter Milan, as he and his team retain the belief they will prevail.
The odds are seemingly stacked against Bayern, who lost the first leg 2-1 at the Allianz Arena last week.
Kompany’s side are dealing with a host of injuries, with Jamal Musiala, Dayot Upamecano and Alphonso Davies among those unavailable.
Bayern are in an excellent position to reclaim the Bundesliga title from Bayer Leverkusen, who they lead in the title race by six points despite Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Borussia Dortmund.
But expectations at Bayern extend beyond domestic dominance, and Kompany was asked at his pre-match press conference about the possibility of him losing his job should they fail to produce a turnaround.
“You always ask what happens if we’re eliminated. What if we go through? Do I get a new contract? But our mindset is that we’ll make it,” Kompany replied.
“That’s how we go into the game. We’re in the middle of April and we’re one game away from the Champions League semi-finals – three wins away from winning the Bundesliga. That’s an opportunity. We live for the opportunity”
Bayern have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last five games, all of which have seen Jonas Urbig deputise for the injured Manuel Neuer.
Kompany, though, is satisfied with what he has seen from Urbig in that time.
“That’s one of the positive stories we have to take away. Despite the setbacks, we have 100 percent confidence that we can do it with these guys,” added Kompany.
“What Jonas and the other boys have shown so far is that they can put in the performances that will get us results. The pressure is on the experienced players. We’ll take Jonas’ energy and talent with us.”
A key selection issue for Kompany concerns who to play out wide. Michael Olise and Leroy Sane started against Dortmund, but it was Serge Gnabry who came off the bench to put Bayern 2-1 up.
“We have more than two players who have performed there. That’s very important for tomorrow,” Kompany explained.
“The match will go all the way, in the first leg a lot happened in the closing stages. That’s why it’s important that Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Kingsley Coman and Michael Olise are in form.
“We’ll see tomorrow who starts. The boys have performed, hopefully they will again tomorrow.”
