Bayern Munich will begin their quest for a fourth successive Bundesliga title with a home encounter against Hamburger SV on Friday evening.
If previous encounters between these two sides are anything to go by, there could well be plenty of goals at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern
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Pep Guardiola may have guided Bayern to successive Bundesliga titles, yet it does not appear that everything is well in Bavaria.
The decision to sell club legend Bastian Schweinsteiger to Manchester United has not been looked upon favourably by the supporters, many of whom have their reservations about Guardiola.
While he has ensured that Bayern remain the dominant force in Germany, his side have been humiliated in the Champions League over the last two seasons by Real Madrid and his former employers Barcelona. The fans tasted success in Europe's premier club competition under Guardiola's predecessor Jupp Heynckes and they want more of it.
It means that for the 44-year-old manager there will be added pressure this time around and with his contract due to expire at the end of the campaign, his future in Munich may depend on it.
In terms of incomings, Schweinsteiger was a popular figure around the place, but on the pitch at least it appears that he has been more than adequately replaced by Arturo Vidal. The addition of Douglas Costa from Shakhtar Donetsk is also an exciting one, with Joshua Kimmich and Sven Ulreich further bolstering the squad.
It has been a mixed summer for Guardiola's men as far as results are concerned, with a defeat on penalties being suffered at the hands of Wolfsburg in the German Super Cup. Yet, they bounced back from that disappointment to beat both AC Milan and Real Madrid to lift the Audi Cup, while Vidal got his name on the scoresheet during the recent 3-1 DFB-Pokal win over Nottingen.
Now, all eyes will turn to the defence of a trophy that Bayern secured on matchday 30 last term. With a positive record against Hamburg, a comfortable win is bound to be demanded by the expectant home faithful.
Recent form: WWWLLW
Recent form (all competitions): WDDWWW
Hamburg
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The fact that Hamburg will start 2015-16 as a Bundesliga club is still a cause of much amazement, given the rollercoaster ride that they embarked on in the closing stages of last term. If a Hollywood scriptwriter had penned this story, it would have been thrown in the bin for being completely unrealistic.
In early June, Hamburg faced Karlsruher of the second division, with the winner booking their spot in the top flight. The first leg in Hamburg ended 1-1, so when Reinhold Yabo gave Karlsruher a 78th-minute lead in the return clash, Der Dino looked doomed.
But, cometh the hour, cometh Marcelo Diaz, who curled in a stoppage-time equaliser, before Nicolai Mueller added a second goal for Hamburg during the extra 30 minutes. The drama was not over, though, as the hosts won a penalty in the final minute, but Rouwen Hennings failed to score, meaning that Hamburg were saved by the skin of their teeth.
After all that, you would imagine that the Hamburg fans would be yearning for an uneventful season this time around, but that does not appear to be the case.
Having impressed during their six pre-season friendlies, four of which they won, Bruno Labbadia's team were expected to make light work of fourth-tier Carl Zeiss Jena in the German Cup at the weekend. The minnows were in no mood to be rolled over, though, and it was they that advanced through thanks to a 3-2 victory.
After suffering such a harrowing defeat, the Allianz Arena is probably the last venue you would want to be visiting, but that is the task ahead for Labbadia, who has been busy adding to his squad over recent weeks. Eight players have been recruited, including Emir Spahic, Albin Ekdal and Lewis Holtby.
Recent form: LWWDLW
Recent form (all competitions): WLWWWL
Team News
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Guardiola must find it difficult to leave players out, such is the quality at his disposal.
However, it has been made slightly easier for the Spaniard by the absences of Franck Ribery and Holger Badstuber, both of whom are injured.
Vidal has been tipped to make his Bundesliga debut, while it would not be a surprise to see Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski feature up front. At the back, Medhi Benatia is in contention to partner Jerome Boateng.
As for the visitors, Rene Adler will keep goal, with summer signings Spahic and Holtby expected to be included.
Bayern possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Rafinha, Boateng, Benatia, Bernat; Alaba, Lahm, Vidal, Robben, Muller; Lewandowski
Hamburg possible starting lineup:
Adler; Sakai, Cleber, Spahic, Ostrzolek; Diaz, Ilicevic, Ekdal, Holtby, Olic; Lasogga
Head To Head
Bayern are not an ideal opponent for any side, but Hamburg have extra reasons to fear the 25-time champions of Germany.
In their last five trips to Munich, not only have they been defeated on each occasion, 31 goals have also been shipped. That record has been helped along by 9-2 and 8-0 losses.
You have to go back to 2007 for Hamburg's last victory at the home of Bayern, when Rafael van der Vaart was among the scorers in a 2-1 win.
As for their most recent triumph, that came at the Imtech Arena in September 2009, with former Fulham and West Ham United striker Mladen Petric the hero in a 1-0 success.
We say: Bayern Munich 3-0 Hamburg
Given that it is the start of the season, Bayern may have a few cobwebs to blow away. That could see them go a little easier on Hamburg, but it still should be a resounding victory nonetheless. Taking their recent record in Munich into consideration, the visitors will probably adopt a damage limitation approach.
Liam Apicella
