Bayern Munich will be without defender Jerome Boateng for the upcoming match against Hoffenheim, but manager Pep Guardiola believes that the club can cope without the star.

Boetang has been a rocksolid player for Bayern since his move from Manchester City a few years ago. Guardiola admitted that the German defender has been a key part of the club, but he also gave glowing tributes about players who can replace him.Medhi Benatia, David Alaba, Javi Martinez, and Rafinha are some of the players in line to step in.

Hoffenheim are near the bottom of the table but they pose a major threat to the club’s winning run according to Guardiola. The opposition has got just two wins this season, but Guardiola reckons that there will provide a lot of problems to his team in the defensive area. Scoring goals has not been a problem for Bayern Munich with the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Müller dominating the scoring charts since the start of the season. Bayern have a great record against Hoffenheim after having not lost in the last fifteen games against the opposition. On the attacking front, the likes of Franck Ribery and Mario Gotze are unavailable.

Hoffenheim badly needed victory in order to improve their chances of staying in the division."We will miss Boateng, but other players will fill the void. We have [Medhi] Benatia, [David] Alaba, [Javi] Martinez, Rafinha, there are plenty of options. Martinez and Benatia have qualities that Boateng doesn't have. But of course, there are some worries.We did everything we could to prevent Jerome's injury, but that was impossible.Hoffenheim are a team that always create a lot of chances.It is hard to win the treble, but the players have been doing great so far,” said Guardiola.