Bayern Munich may line up at the Metropolitano on Tuesday night with their third-choice goalkeeper. Sven Ulreich, 38, was warmed up on the touchline against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday and has not played a competitive match since March 2026.

Manuel Neuer has missed three games with fluid in his foot caused by a tendon problem. Jonas Urbig, who deputised in all three, took Carney Chukwuemeka’s knees to the face in the 34th minute of the 2-2 draw with Dortmund. He saw out the game, but Bayern fear a delayed concussion response and have been monitoring him for symptoms since Saturday.

Urbig played down the incident afterwards, telling Bild in the mixed zone:

“Everything is okay, but I just got two knees to the face.”

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Hamann wants a permanent change

The former Bayern midfielder Dietmar Hamann told Sky that Urbig should start every match through Christmas regardless of whether 40-year-old Neuer is fit.

“We’ve reached the point where, as a club, you can’t and shouldn’t make allowances any more. The club will carry on and continue to exist without Neuer,” Hamann said.

He compared Neuer’s stop-start season to a game of musical chairs, and said playing 10 or 15 matches is not the same as being the permanent No. 1. Giving Urbig a guaranteed run through to the winter break, Hamann argued, is the only way to find out whether the 23-year-old can take over for good.

Sammer stands by Neuer

Matthias Sammer, a longtime Bayern adviser, holds the opposite view. He told Sky that Neuer remains ahead of Urbig in the hierarchy whenever he is fit to play, and that the German international’s status as captain and No. 1 is not something the club is willing to park on form grounds alone.

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That is also the recent pattern. Urbig has been given extended runs twice this season when Neuer has been unavailable, with the understanding that the shirt goes back to the captain the moment he is cleared.

Ulreich warming up on the bench

If neither Neuer nor Urbig is passed fit, Ulreich will start in a Champions League league-phase tie against Diego Simeone’s side having not kept goal competitively for eight months. His last appearance for the club was in March.

Bayern travel to the Metropolitano on Tuesday evening, with the final goalkeeper call expected after a late fitness check on Urbig.

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