The successes and the well-stocked trophy cabinet of the record champions from Munich are well known; however, last season should be remembered in the history books. With 122 goals, Bayern set a new scoring record within a Bundesliga season, surpassing the previous best mark, which had stood for over 50 years, by 21 goals. The team's 35th championship title under head coach Vincent Kompany was officially confirmed after the 30th matchday. With 89 points, it was the team's third-strongest season based on points, behind the 2012/13 (91) and 2013/14 (90) seasons. However, it was not enough for the treble, as while Bayern were able to succeed in the DFB Pokal, the end point in a tight Champions League semi-final was ultimately Paris Saint-Germain. 

The majority of the FCB squad did not have a long summer break, as 17 of the 23 players participated in the World Championship in North America. Only the injured offensive stars Serge Gnabry and Lennart Karl, as well as backup goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, outside defender Sacha Boey, and Tom Bischof, did not take part in the tournament. Jonas Urbig was not officially part of the German national team's squad, but traveled as a training goalkeeper to the DFB camp. 

After the successful season, there were apparently few reasons for massive changes to the squad. In addition to the permanent signing of loan player Bara Sapoko Ndiaye, only two external new arrivals joined: Nathanael Brown (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Ismael Saibari (PSV Eindhoven). On the departure side, the farewell of long-term regular player Leon Goretzka after eight years is especially worth mentioning.

The Bayern are the only current Bundesliga team against which Union is still waiting for its first victory. In fifteen encounters, both clubs have drawn five times, and the team from the south of the Republic won ten times. The last goal scored by Union in the Allianz Arena was by Marcus Ingvartsen in the 1-1 draw in April 2021.

The coaching team will have to do without the services of Oliver Burke, Marvin Friedrich, Andrej Ilić, Josip Juranović, and Stanley Nsoki on Friday.

“Against Bayern, the conditions are always special. It is a match that is different from many others. For us, it will be important to perform as a cohesive team over the entire 90 minutes and to consistently bring our performance onto the pitch. In Munich, of course, many things have to come together, perhaps even everything. That is exactly what we will invest everything in so that we can show our best face on that day,” says head coach Mauro Lustrinelli, looking ahead to the away game in front of 75,000 spectators.

For the away game in Bavaria, 2,400 Unioner are traveling to Munich. Also on-site will be the Union-Fahr-Zeughaus. Information about visiting the stadium can be found here.