Vincent Kompany's Bayern kicked off the new season with some positive performances, including a win from behind against Wolfsburg. Die Roten plan to continue their climb with a straightforward win over Holsten Kiel.
Holstein Kiel will try to avoid a third defeat in a row but the challenge could not be any more difficult. The Storks began their debut campaign in the top flight with a 3-2 defeat to Hoffenheim, before losing 2-0 to Wolfsburg in their first-ever Bundesliga home game.
But Holstein already have experience defeating the Bavarians, after taking them out of the DFB-Pokal in 2021. Repeating this feat will be easier said than done and their defence has to improve when faced with set pieces.
Much has been said about Bayern's new manager and his preparedness to manage a team of this calibre. While they started the latest campaign with a couple of wins, their performances left much to be desired. Luck was the only reason they didn't concede more than twice and their attack failed to produce enough chances.
How the bookies view it: Predictable odds
Bookmakers see Bayern Munich as the clear favourite and you can bet on them to win at 2/9 at Betfred. Holstein Kiel's unlikely triumph is priced at 10/1, while you can bet on the draw at 11/2.
Recent head-to-head: Holstein Kiel won last time
This is the debut season in the elite for the Storks, so it comes as no surprise that the teams have not met many times in the past. Their only fixture was in 2021 when the teams met in the DFB-Pokal. Shockingly, Holstein Kiel won that match after Marc Roca missed the last penalty for Bayern Munich.
Players to watch: How many will Kane score?
Marcel Rapp will have a lot of worries with five key players listed as injured at the moment. Colin Kleine-Bekel and Andu Kelati have been confirmed as missing and another three players have been listed as doubtful.
Vincent Kompany will also lack some muscle as Josip Stanisic, Leroy Sane, Ibrahimovic, Ito, Peretz, and Buchmann are out for this game. However, this will not be a good enough excuse to lose points against this opponent.
Harry Kane collected all possible individual awards recently and already scored twice in the new campaign. Thomas Muller appears to be on fire as well, with three goals in three games this season.
Probable line-ups
Holstein Kiel: Weiner, Komenda, Erras, Johansson, Puchacz, Knudsen, Holtby, Remberg, Becker, Machino, Bernhardsson
Bayern Munich: Neuer, Kimmich, Min-Jae, Upamecano, Guerreiro, Palhinha, Pavlovic, Olise, Musiala, Gnabry, Kane
Anything else catch the eye?
Bayern's defence looks rather unpredictable right now and it might be worth looking at the BTTS market for this fixture. If available, you can combine it with the win odds for the Bavarians as we still expect them to win the match, but we certainly wouldn't be surprised to see them concede a goal.
However, it should also be noted that Bayern's recent away record has seen them lose five in the last ten outings. This includes an average of 2.5 goals conceded away from home in the same number of matches.
Since Holstein Kiel produced an impressive 13 chances against Wolfsburg, there is no doubt that they will have opportunities to score on Saturday. On the other end, betting on Harry Kane to score is one of the safest options.
This German Bundesliga match between Holstein Kiel and Bayern Munich will be played on Sep 14, 2024 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Holstein Kiel vs Bayern Munich prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
