Gnabry Set for Bayern Return – Saibari's Position Under Threat

Serge Gnabry is almost back – and the timing could hardly be more uncomfortable for Ismael Saibari.

The 31-year-old winger has stepped up his comeback at Säbener Straße. After cautiously rejoining parts of team training last week, he completed the full session at the start of this week and, by all accounts, looked sharp and ready. For Vincent Kompany, that suddenly means a genuine option for the matchday squad again.

Gnabry has been sidelined since April with an adductor injury, missing Bayern’s season run-in and the World Cup with Germany. Now, according to Bild, he could already be named in the squad for Thursday’s Champions League opener against Bodö/Glimt at the Allianz Arena.

A start from the off would be a surprise so soon after a long lay-off. But once Gnabry is fully fit, the battle for places around Harry Kane will ignite properly – and Saibari is right in the firing line.

Saibari under scrutiny

Saibari arrived in Munich from PSV Eindhoven in the summer for just under €55 million including bonuses, billed as a versatile attacking piece for Kompany’s new puzzle. He has been trusted early: the Moroccan started both the 4-1 DFB Cup win over VfL Osnabrück and the goalless Bundesliga draw at promoted Schalke 04.

Both times, though, his evening ended quickly. Kompany hooked him after around half an hour in each match.

The season had actually begun promisingly. Coming off the bench in the Bundesliga opener, Saibari produced two goal involvements in the 5-1 win against VfB Stuttgart. Since then, the end product has dried up. No direct goal contributions, growing criticism, and now the shadow of Gnabry looming larger by the day.

Former Bayern midfielder and Sky pundit Dietmar Hamann has already gone public with a clear verdict. He called Saibari a “wonderful footballer” but then delivered the sting: “He is too slow. He's not just not quick, he's like a poor Kane. Kane is not the quickest and now his back-up is not the quickest either.”

For Hamann, the talk of Saibari’s versatility is overstated. While Bayern see him as someone who can occupy four positions, Hamann insists he can only truly operate in one: behind Kane in the No 10 role. Out wide, he believes, the Moroccan lacks the necessary pace. In that central position, Hamann rates “Serge Gnabry a class better” than the new signing.

If Kompany shares even part of that assessment once Gnabry is match-fit, Saibari’s status as a regular could evaporate quickly.

Familiar referee for Bayern’s Champions League start

Bayern’s latest assault on the Champions League begins on Thursday night, and there is at least one comforting sign for the German record champions.

UEFA has appointed Rade Obrenovic to officiate the clash with Bodö/Glimt at the Allianz Arena. The Slovenian referee has only handled Bayern once before – but that one game went very much their way.

Last season, Obrenovic took charge of Bayern’s 2-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise, a result that booked their place in the round of 16. His whistle was busy that night: he awarded Bayern two penalties, one converted and one missed by Harry Kane, and showed Min-Jae Kim a second yellow card. All of those decisions stood up to scrutiny.

Now Obrenovic returns, Gnabry is on the brink, and Kompany faces his first real selection dilemma of the season. Who blinks first – the returning star or the expensive new signing desperate to prove he belongs?