Match Info
Location: Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
Date: Wednesday, September 17th, 2025
Time: 9:00pm local time (3:00pm EST)
TV/streaming: Paramount+, Find Your Country
Bayern Munich has stormed out of the gates to kick off the 2025/26 campaign, racking up five wins in five competitive matches. Bayern will kick off the Champions League group stage with a home game against an undefeated challenger from the Premier League, Chelsea. Bayern has been the best team in the group stage for the last two decades.
Historically,
Bayern have eliminated each other once in the knockout rounds. Chelsea infamously claimed victory in the 2012 final with a penalty kick shootout. Bayern won the 2013 UEFA Super Cup and also beat Chelsea in the 2020 Round of 16 with a dominating 7-1 aggregate scoreline.
Chelsea has not won the Premier League since 2016/17 but has managed to earn trophies in the Champions League (2020/21), Conference League (2024/25), and FIFA Club World Cup (2021, 2025).
Team News
Here is the predicted lineup, courtesy of BFW:
This is the same starting lineup that led Bayern to a 4-0 halftime lead over the weekend against Hamburger SV. It’s possible that Leon Goretzka is inserted as the box-to-box midfielder instead of Aleksandar Pavlović but that feels unlikely given the chemistry that this starting XI has developed.
Vincent Kompany will have limited options off the bench. Sacha Boey and Tom Bischof can cover the outside back positions if Konrad Laimer or Josip Stanišić need a substitution. Lennart Karl has proven himself valuable but Kompany will be hesitant to pull off any of the attackers. If Bayern needs a late goal, Nicolas Jackson can serve as a second striker. It’s very reasonable to expect Kompany to end this match with one or two unused substitutions.
From an injury standpoint, Bayern will be without the services of Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies, Raphaël Guerreiro and Hiroki Itō.
In the second year under Enzo Maresca’s management, Chelsea exclusively runs a 4-2-3-1 formation similar to Bayern’s style. Chelsea has a variety of scoring options but the offense revolves around Cole Palmer.
Bayern Munich will square off with Chelsea in the Champions League at the Allianz Arena in what will surely be an electric atmosphere.
Germany’s biggest club will host a traditional English power…what else can you ask for? Let’s stop wasting time and get into this showdown between two of the more dangerous teams in the competition:
- What a crazy way to start the Champions League
- What to watch for with Chelsea — this team is loaded, but also does have a couple of injuries to deal with.
- A look at Bayern Munich’s injury situation as Vincent Kompany appears to have settled into his starting XI for big matches.
- A guess at Bayern Munich’s starting XI.
- A prediction on the match.
Also, be sure to stay tuned to Bavarian Podcast Works for all of your up to date coverage on Bayern Munich and Germany. Check us out on Patreon and follow us on Twitter @BavarianFBWorks, @BavarianPodcast @TheBarrelBlog, @BFWCyler, @2012nonexistent, @TommyAdams71 and more.
