Winning mentality for opening game: Bayern start in Wolfsburg

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FC Bayern München

·24 August 2024

Winning mentality for opening game: Bayern start in Wolfsburg

Pack ma’s! On Sunday, FC Bayern begin the new Bundesliga season away to VfL Wolfsburg (live text and free Web Radio commentary from 15:30 CEST on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app). Head coach Vincent Kompany and his team want to reap the reward of an intense pre-season and claim the first three points. Our preview has everything you need to know on the Matchday 1 encounter.

The photos from Saturday's final training session:

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The final training session before the trip to Wolfsburg

On Saturday, FC Bayern had their last training session before travelling to the Bundesliga away game at VfL Wolfsburg - the session in pictures.

The state of play for Bayern

After the 4-0 win at SSV Ulm in the DFB Cup last Friday, the German record champions have had more time to prepare than Wolfsburg, who progressed to the second round of the cup on Monday with a 1-0 win at Tus Koblenz. But to keep up the rhythm, the Bavarians played a friendly against Grasshoppers on Tuesday (4-0). Once again, the hard work of the past weeks was reflected in the scoreline. So, the motto for Sunday is: take that momentum and get off to a winning start in the Bundesliga season.

To do that, Kompany is demanding the right attitude from his players: "For me it's important that we show character. We want to stick to the line that we've seen in pre-season, where the team are getting better and better," said the head coach in his press conference on Saturday morning. The 38-year-old Belgian is looking forward to a "big challenge" on his debut as a Bundesliga coach. He expects "strong opponents" and a "tough away match", but at the same time he's going into it with confidence: "We want to win every game, that's our attitude." Board member for sport Max Eberl set out the clear aim: "We want the Meisterschale to come back straight back to Munich."

Catch up on the main statements from the press conference with Vincent Kompany and Max Eberl here:

Kompany: We need the maximum performance from everyone

The opponents: Wolfsburg

The Wolves overcame their first hurdle of the new season and beat fifth-tier side Koblenz 1-0 in the first round of the cup. Their record in pre-season friendlies reads two wins, two draws and two defeats, with Ralph Hasenhüttl's side taking on the likes of Anderlecht (1-2), Lille (1-0), Hannover 96 (2-3) and Brenford (4-4). VfL finished 12th in the Bundesliga last season after defeats in their final two games against Bayern and Mainz 05 ended their chances of European qualification.

Hasenhüttl is heading into the new campaign with a good feeling. "We've worked on a lot of things in pre-season and of course, we also know that you need more than just good processes against the top clubs," the 57-year-old Austrian said in his pre-match press conference. He described Bayern as a team with "almost no weak points" who attack with great purpose. However, the hosts don't want to hide whatsoever. "We're going into this meeting with a lot of courage and confidence," he added.

The facts on the clash with the Wolves:

Facts ahead of VfL Wolfsburg vs. FC Bayern

The team news

Kompany has plenty of options at his disposal for the league opener. ""If everything's fine in training today, we have everyone available except the long-term absentees," he confirmed in the press conference. Bayern travel to Lower Saxony without Hiroki Ito (metatarsal fracture), Josip Stanišić (knee ligament tear), Daniel Peretz (muscle tendon injury) and Arijon Ibrahimović (muscle tear). Leroy Sané trained with the team during the week for the first time since groin surgery.

For Wolfsburg, new signing Mohamed Amoura, Rogério, Joakim Maehle, Aster Vranckx, Kevin Paredes and Lukas Nmecha are all sidelined by injury. Maxence Lacroix is a doubt for Sunday's match.

Bayern looking to take momentum into new season

What the coaches say

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