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There’s a trophy up for grabs straight away in FC Bayern’s first competitive fixture of the new season! The Munich men visit Borussia Dortmund on Saturday evening at 20:30 CEST in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup (live text and free Web Radio commentary on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app). WIth the ‘Klassiker’ against BVB, Vincent Kompany’s side face a real yardstick on the big stage to start the campaign. Our preview contains all the important info on the clash in Dortmund.
The best pictures from the final training session on Friday:
Latest news from Bayern
Bayern can look back on a thoroughly successful pre-season. After a 2-1 defeat in the first friendly against SV Wehen Wiesbaden, in which largely youth players featured, five wins from five games followed. Kompany’s men particularly impressed in the 2-1 victory over Aston Villa on the Audi Summer Tour and in the 3-1 win against RB Leipzig in the Telekom Cup last Saturday, whetting the appetite for the new season.
There’s still work for the Reds to do – some of the World Cup participants only returned to team training this week – but FCB are looking to build on the processes that served them so well last season. “It’s a fresh start again, to some extent,” said board member for sport Max Eberl in Friday’s pre-match press conference. “We have high goals and now is the time for us to get back into it. We'll have to work hard for everything again in the new season. Dortmund is the first real challenge that we have to overcome.”
The facts on the meeting in Dortmund:
“I don’t think there’s anything nicer than winning a trophy away in Dortmund,” commented head coach Kompany ahead of the game. “That’s difficult, though. The quality and power of the Dortmund team is high. There's no tougher challenge in the Bundesliga." Eberl is expecting a fierce contest at Signal Iduna Park: “Dortmund will do everything they can to stop us from winning the cup. We'll do everything we can to win it. It’s a really intense match to start with.”
Read all the key statements from the press conference in our blog:
Opponents: Borussia Dortmund
BVB have had a revamp over the summer. The departures of established players such as Julian Brandt, Karim Adeyemi and Niklas Süle have been countered by young, highly talented new signings like Joane Gadou and Konstantinos Karetsas. Following two defeats to Fortuna Düsseldorf (2-1) and Cerezo Osaka (1-0), the Black and Yellows have registered victories against FC Tokyo (1-0) and Arsenal (3-2) as well as a draw against AS Roma (2-2) in their most recent friendlies. The clash against Bayern in the Supercup will now show Borussia where they really stand. “We’re at the start of the season, no one really knows where they’re at,” said Dortmund coach Niko Kovač. “Therefore, this match will be a kind of pointer: where are we at, where do we want to go, what do we want to do?”
We take a closer look at the upcoming opponents in our analysis:
Team news
Bayern must do without Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala and Lennart Karl in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup.
For BVB, defensive duo Nico Schlotterbeck and Emre Can are long-term absentees. Waldemar Anton and Maximilian Beier are available again after minor injuries, but midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka remains a doubt.
Test your knowledge of the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup in the Matchday Quiz:
What the coaches say
I don't make a distinction in the significance of the titles. At the end of the day you want to win them all. It's a final.
Vincent Kompany
I certainly think we're in a good place, but it's still all vague. You don't see where the journey is headed in until the first five, six matches. But the journey should certainly head in the right direction.
Niko Kovač (Borussia Dortmund)
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