Vincent Kompany will hope that his first Bundesliga home game as Bayern Munich boss goes more smoothly than his side's win last week against Wolfsburg when they host Freiburg on Sunday at Allianz Arena.
The home team won 3-2 against Wolfsburg on August 25 and are currently sixth in the table with three points, while the visitors are second with three points after they beat Stuttgart 3-1 on August 24.
Match preview
After their tumultuous 2023-24 season under Thomas Tuchel in which they finished third in the Bundesliga and failed to win the league for the first time in 12 seasons, fans had hoped that a summer revamp led by Kompany would correct the team's glaring defensive issues.
However, Bayern still conceded twice and faced four big chances despite dominating possession against Wolfsburg, while only having created three big chances of their own.
The Bavarians trailed 2-1 after Lovro Majer scored his second of the game in the 55th minute, but Wolfsburg defender Jakub Kaminski turned the ball into the back of his own net and drew Kompany's side level.
Harry Kane registered an assist when he played a pass to an on-rushing Serge Gnabry, whose smart finish crashed against the post before crossing the line in the 82nd minute.
The result means that Kompany has won his first two competitive games as Bayern boss, the first of which was a 4-0 success against Ulm on August 16 in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.
It also means that Bayern have conceded nine goals in their last four league games and have kept just two clean sheets in their last 17 Bundesliga matches.
Opponents Freiburg come into the clash having beaten last season's runners-up Stuttgart 3-1 in their opening game of the league season, and they were thoroughly deserving of their victory.
Stuttgart scored first due to Ermedin Demirovic's stunning bicycle kick in the second minute, but two goals from Lukas Kubler and one from Ritsu Doan ensured victory for Breisgau-Brasilianer.
Though Freiburg allowed their opponents to have 67% possession, they managed to limit them to zero big chances from nine shots, while they created four big chances from 16 shots.
Boss Julian Schuster has won both of his first two competitive games in charge of the club having beaten Osnabruck 4-0 in the first round of the DFB-Pokal on August 17.
Freiburg's win against Stuttgart was their first win in the Bundesliga in their last six matches, and if they were to prevail on Sunday, it would be their first league victory on the road in their last three.
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Team News
Kompany's side will be without goalkeeper Daniel Peretz, defender Tarek Buchmann and forward Arijon Ibrahimovic due to muscle injuries.
Bayern will also be unable to select Leroy Sane, Josip Stanisic and Hiroki Ito, while Kim Min-jae is a doubt.
As for the visitors, they have several injury absentees, including Michael Gregoritsch, Manuel Gulde and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh.
Elsewhere, defender Kenneth Schmidt is suspended, while Freiburg have doubts about the availability of Noah Atubolu, Eren Dinkci and Kiliann Sildillia.
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Boey, Dier, Upamecano, Davies; Kimmich, Palhinha; Olise, Musiala, Gnabry; Kane
Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Muller; Kubler, Rosenfelder, Lienhart, Gunter; Eggestein, Osterhage; Doan, Rohl, Grifo; Adamu
We say: Bayern Munich 4-1 Freiburg
Although Bayern have still not solved their defensive issues, their attacking prowess should be more than enough to earn them a second consecutive league victory.
However, it would not be surprising if Freiburg managed to take an early lead and cause their hosts difficulty in the first half.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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