Bayern begin Bundesliga title defence with Kane primed for favourite opponent

Bayern Munich begin their Bundesliga title defence on Friday with the expectation of another championship run already surrounding Vincent Kompany’s side — but their opening test against Stuttgart also brings an early chance to measure how the champions are evolving.

Bayern enter the new league season with momentum. They beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the German Supercup five days ago, with Michael Olise contributing a goal and an assist and new arrival Nathaniel Brown scoring on his competitive debut. That result delivered the first trophy of the campaign before a Bundesliga ball had been kicked.

Harry Kane will again sit at the centre of Bayern’s attacking threat. The England captain has scored 14 goals in eight competitive appearances against Stuttgart, according to Bayern, making them his most productive opponent in German football. It is a record that gives Friday’s opener an obvious individual subplot as Kane starts another season expected to define Bayern’s final third.

The wider picture, however, is less straightforward.

Jamal Musiala has been cleared to play following the nerve problem that affected his preparations, but his condition remains one of the key variables around Bayern’s early-season structure. Few players in the squad offer the same capacity to receive between the lines, carry possession through pressure and change the rhythm of an attack, making his availability particularly significant as Kompany settles his preferred midfield balance.

Bayern have also added new options. Brown has made an immediate impression, while Ismael Saibari offers further flexibility in advanced midfield areas. Those additions give Kompany more ways to support Kane and Olise without placing the full creative burden on Musiala from the opening weeks.

The champions nevertheless start from a position of strength. Their squad retains the spine that carried them to last season’s Bundesliga title, and the Supercup victory over Dortmund provided an early indication that the intensity and control Kompany demanded during his first campaign remain intact.

Stuttgart should provide a more useful test than the status of an opening fixture might suggest. Bayern’s recent record and Kane’s numbers against them point strongly toward the hosts, but the first league match will offer a clearer indication of how quickly the new pieces fit around an established core.

For Bayern, Friday is therefore about more than beginning with three points. It is the first domestic examination of whether a side that already knows how to win can become more flexible without losing the authority that made it champions.