Bundesliga Season Preview: Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund Face Early Tests
The Bundesliga is open for business again. New faces on the touchline, a traditional giant back from the wilderness, and a debutant club from a town without a train station – welcome, SV Elversberg – give this season a fresh edge.
But as the curtain lifts, two fixtures demand attention: the champions under the Friday night lights, and a Saturday evening clash that drips with narrative.
Bayern Munich vs VfB Stuttgart – Champions Tested Early
The season starts with a jolt: Bayern Munich at home, title in hand, Stuttgart in town, and questions already circling around Vincent Kompany’s new-look side.
We’ve had a first glimpse. Bayern edged Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Supercup, a result that mattered less than the details within it. Nathaniel Brown, signed as a left-back, spent large stretches of the game behaving like anything but. He surged forward, attacked space, and crowned his debut with a goal. Kompany pushed him high, almost as an auxiliary winger at times. How often that experiment becomes a feature rather than a one-off wrinkle will be one of the early tactical storylines of Bayern’s season.
Elsewhere, the picture felt familiar. The core of last year’s Bayern reappeared, and Michael Olise wasted no time in making the scoresheet his own. The patterns, the pressure, the weight of possession – all recognisable. The twist comes from how Kompany layers his new pieces onto that old dominance.
Stuttgart arrive with continuity of a different kind. Their standout summer move wasn’t a new arrival but a signature on a contract extension: Deniz Undav staying put. Twenty-five goals in 45 competitive games last season turned him from smart loan into cornerstone. Stuttgart’s hopes of another push towards the Champions League rest heavily on his shoulders again.
In the DFB Pokal against Hansa Rostock, Undav operated just behind Dzenan Pejcinovic. It clicked. The opposition may have been from the third tier, but the combination had a sharpness that suggested something more durable. Undav found pockets, Pejcinovic stretched the line, and Stuttgart looked comfortable with that dual-threat structure.
They know what awaits them on Friday: long spells without the ball, long runs chasing Bayern’s carousel of possession. But this is not a side that wilts easily. With a clear plan, pace in transition, and Undav’s penalty-box instincts, Stuttgart have enough to hurt the champions if they pick their moments.
Opening games carry their own chaos. Bayern will expect to set the tone for the season. Stuttgart will happily spoil the script.
Never sleep on the first night.
Borussia Dortmund vs Hamburger SV – Money, Momentum, and a Rising Underdog
The Saturday evening topspiel at the Westfalenstadion pairs two clubs with very different budgets, but a shared sense that this season could be a step forward.
Borussia Dortmund come in off that narrow Supercup defeat to Bayern, but the second half offered plenty of encouragement. Fabio Silva found the net, and Maximilian Bauer came agonisingly close to an equaliser he really should have buried. The performance hinted at a side still bedding in, yet already dangerous.
The transfer window tells its own story. Dortmund have spent just under €110m, and a large chunk of that has gone into reshaping the attacking core. Konstantinos Karetsas arrived from Genk for €30m, Giannis Konstantelias followed from PAOK for €26m. Two Greek internationals, one clear idea: sharpen the team behind Serhou Guirassy and give the 3-4-2-1 system more imagination between the lines.
Julian Brandt’s free move to Ajax and Karim Adeyemi’s sale to Barcelona for €22m marked the end of one era of Dortmund’s attacking identity. The new one leans heavily on Karetsas and Konstantelias to provide invention and incision in central spaces.
Behind them, Joey Veerman’s €22m switch from PSV changes the rhythm of the midfield. The Dutchman brings calm on the ball, the ability to dictate tempo, and the vision to punch vertical passes through the first press. With Felix Nmecha still the established box-to-box presence, Dortmund haven’t ripped up their structure. They’ve tried to upgrade the quality of the players occupying its most decisive zones.
Hamburger SV, by contrast, have gone for targeted evolution rather than revolution. Their second season back in the Bundesliga follows a solid 13th-place finish, and their net spend so far is modest: around €12.50m in, €10m out. The numbers are small. The stakes are not.
Albert Grønbaek is the headline act of their window so far. The Dane, who joined permanently for just under €5m after a winter loan, endured an injury-hit spell last season. This pre-season, though, he has looked transformed. Goals, assists, and a sharper presence in the final third have turned him into one of Hamburg’s most intriguing weapons. If his body holds up, that fee could look like a bargain.
HSV might not be finished yet. The club are pushing to bring back former Arsenal loanee Fabio Vieira on a permanent deal worth €7m plus add-ons. His performances at the Volksparkstadion last season left a mark, and he remains high on Hamburg’s list of priorities. Should that move materialise, it would add another layer of guile to an already improving side.
On Saturday, the dynamics are clear. Dortmund will look to dominate, to show off their new attacking pieces, to pin Hamburg back and turn possession into pressure. But last season’s numbers offer a warning: HSV were strong away from home and lost this fixture 3-2 by the narrowest of margins.
Dortmund have spent to climb a level. Hamburg have built quietly, trusting chemistry and smart additions. Now they meet under the floodlights, one club chasing the title conversation, the other intent on proving that last season’s survival was only the beginning.
