It’s the first game of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season with title-holders Bayern Munich hosting a new look RB Leipzig.
Bayern Munich
It’s been a hectic and interesting summer at Bayern. Having reached the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup this summer, the players have had very little time to rest and recuperate. Despite that, Vincent Kompany’s side went on to win the Franz Beckenbauer Super Cup last weekend against VfB Stuttgart.
Comings and Goings
It’s been a mixed bag for Bayern in the summer transfer window. They failed to get Florian Wirtz, who opted for Liverpool, and look to have also missed out on signing Stuttgart’s Nick Woltemade, who looks set to stay with the Swabians for another season at least.
Having said that, the club have recently secured the signing of Luis Diaz from Liverpool, who found the net in the Super Cup. They also signed Jonathan Tah and Tom Bischof early in the window. However, it still leaves some areas thin.
Speaking during his press conference, Kompany was asked whether he was happy with the current squad:
“We have four experienced players and two talented youngsters in attack. We also have Rapha Guerreiro and Tom Bischof, who can play in an attacking role. Manuel Neuer won’t be playing up front (laughs). I don’t like playing in a sacrificial role. No matter what happens, we want to attack. We have a lot of people working on transfers. My job is to make sure we win tomorrow.”
RB Leipzig
It’s been a summer of change at RB Leipzig, who for the first time since being promoted to the Bundesliga, don’t have European football this season. Ole Werner, formerly of Werder Bremen, has taken up the head coach position and has got to work on bringing in the likes of Arthur Vermeeren (€20m, Atletico Madrid), Romulo (€20m, Göztepe), and Johan Bakayoko (€18m, PSV).
Ahead of the new season, the club also has a new captain in David Ruam. Ahead of the game, the skipper was asked about the start of the season and the new challenge ahead.
“Everyone’s watching this game. We’ve set ourselves some big goals and are excited for the start of the season.”
Those goals in question must be to get back playing Champions League football again.
The Saxons may not be done in the transfer window, in order to achieve those goals. One player of interest is former Leipzig man, Christopher Nkunku. Currently at Chelsea, the Frenchman is looking for a fresh start, having never really got going at Chelsea between competition and injuries.
Elsewhere, starman Xavi Simons still could be on the move. Linked with a move to Chelsea himself, Leipzig are not backing down from their €70m asking price.
When speaking with Sky Germany, sports director Marcel Schäfer explained: “We make all our decisions based on sporting and financial considerations. If it suits everyone, we have often facilitated player transfers in the past. That’s not the case at the moment, and if nothing changes, Xavi will remain an RB Leipzig player.”
Prediction
There’s still work to be done for both teams as the transfer window comes to a close. However, with Bayern at home, they’ll be looking for the win against a team they’ll see as a rival. RB Leipzig have a decent record against Bayern in recent games and will need to be at their best here. However, I can’t see beyond a Bayern win on the opening night in the Allianz Arena.
My prediction: Bayern Munich 3-1 RB Leipzig
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