The German Bundesliga starts its new season on Friday with Eintracht Frankfurt hosting Bayern Munich, who will look to prove that they can do just fine without Robert Lewandowski.
Eintracht have beaten Bayern twice in the last three meetings. Can they spring a surprise again? Bookmaker 10bet has the odds at 6.00 for a home win at Deutsche Bank Park. The odds are at 1.45 for Bayern to win and at 5.25 for the teams to split the points with a draw.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: August 4th, 8:00 A.M. (EST)
The two teams exchanged away wins last term and Eintracht also beat Bayern at home the season before. Frankfurt have been on the up in recent years and the club even managed to win the Europa League in 2021-22. This shouldn’t be a walk in a park for Bayern.
Eintracht look set to lose their star man Filip Kostic before the transfer window closes, but the club has had a busy summer in the recruitment department and the team looks very well built on paper. Frankfurt even managed to snap up World Cup winner Mario Götze, who might have a thing or two to prove on Friday after lasting just three years at Bayern when he was at the top of his game.
Bayern will definitely be weaker without Lewandowski banging in the goals, but it will still be incredibly tough to end their 10-year reign in the Bundesliga. The club has spent nearly €150 million on new players, and if you have Sadio Mane coming in for Lewandowski then you haven’t done too badly. Also, the defense has gotten a huge addition in Matthijs de Ligt.
Kingsley Coman is suspended and Leon Goretzka is recovering from knee surgery, but manager Julian Nagelsmann still has a very strong selection to choose from and the absentees shouldn’t affect Bayern a lot. The Bavarians haven’t lost the Bundesliga season opener since 2011-12 and will want to keep the streak going.
Frankfurt would love to deliver Bayern their first opening day loss in 11 seasons, but the team also has to think about next week’s UEFA Super Cup clash against Real Madrid. It’s a tricky spot for manager Oliver Glasner, who has to find a way to be competitive in back-to-back games against two of the best teams in the world.
