FC Bayern Munich vs VfL Wolfsburg is one of the matches on the card for week 18 of the 2024/25 German Bundesliga season.
Both teams met on week 1 at the Volkswagen Arena where The Wolves almost turned Vincent Kompany’s debut into an “aha!” moment for the fans.
The Belgian’s appointment was met with resistance from a large section of the fans and the club’s administration but it took some powerful people to ensure that he was in the dugout of the Bavarians by matchday 1. Kompany was not the first or the popular choice among the candidates to replace Thomas Tuchel for 2024/25 and beyond, but he got the job anyway and fans wanted to see what he could do when faced with a big test like Wolfsburg on matchday 1.
Bayern went into that match with a 20-game unbeaten run versus Wolfsburg so their fans were very attentive to what Kompany would do. Luckily for him, his selection started brightly and Wolfsburg’s new goalkeeper Kamil Grabara had to deny Serge Gnabry and Harry Kane in the early stages before more impressively saving a Joshua Kimmich header.
There was nothing he could do to stop Bayern in the 19th minute, however, after Kane released Sacha Boey down the right, who then powered down the flank to square for a Jamal Musiala tap-in from point-blank range.
The half ended with this goal, but Wolfsburg quickly took control in the second half. Within 30 seconds of the restart, Boey felled Tiago Tomás inside the box and Lovro Majer buried the spot kick.
Moments later, he gave the hosts the lead after scoring from a Patrick Wimmer assist. The Austrian caught Kim Min-jae out of possession in his own third, then unselfishly squared to give Majer a tap-in.
Kompany could be seen pacing about but his side showed mental toughness to come back to win the game.
It started with a Kane-forced own goal just beyond the hour mark. The England national team captain headed a corner back across goal, hoping to assist a teammate. His header found Wolfsburg’s Jakub Kamiński instead, who unwittingly deflected the ball into his own net. 2- 2.
Both teams went at each other after that and both goalkeepers had to be at their best to keep their teams in the game. Kane would turn the game on its head in the 85th minute by providing an assist for Gnabry to score the winner for Bayern and ensure their unbeaten streak’s continuation.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men will hope that they can stave off any surprises this time around, but the venue of this game has proven to be their Achilles heel.
Match Tickets
The world-famous, world-class and world-renowned Allianz Arena is the venue for this matchday 18 fixture, which will be the reverse fixture of the matchday 1 clash between FC Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena.
The second half of the season is important for Bayern Munich and as expected, they have a silent campaign to encourage fans not to miss out on the home games left in the season. This is because Vincent Kompany’s team have stuttered in the title race at times and despite being in the lead, look vulnerable.
As such, FC Bayern Munich vs VfL Wolfsburg tickets are expected to sell out. This means that only fans who indicate their interest early enough stand a chance to get seats at the Allianz Arena for the game.
FC Bayern Munich tickets and VfL Wolfsburg tickets can be bought via the club websites as well as their partner platforms and other official (online or offline) channels.
Ticket resale websites are a secondary option for ticket purchases. For non-registered fans, they are a primary option because attempting to buy from the clubs directly means that they will be forced to join waitlists to first approve their registration before they can attempt ticket purchases.
On these ticket resale websites, fans can exchange money for tickets from fans who have some to part away with, or to spare, making it a hassle-free ticket purchasing experience.
The match will be played on 18 January 2025 at 3:30 PM, UK time.
Team News
Bayern Munich will prepare for the match without Hiroki Ito, who has been unable to play for the team since joining them from VfB Stuttgart in the summer. Costing €30 million, the 25-year-old defender has been unable to enjoy any football action thanks to injuries and injury relapses since switching Stuttgart for Munich.
He is expected to be back in training by January but it will be for rehabilitation purposes. Kompany will not be too bothered, however, as his current backline is solid enough to handle Wolfsburg and what they will throw at them.
Meanwhile, The Wolves, who were without Rogério, Kevin Paredes, Bartosz Bialek, Niklas Klinger, Aster Vranckx, Lovro Majer and Sebastiaan Bornauw at different points for most of the first half of the season, will have all these players ready for the trip to the Allianz Arena on matchday 18.
Not all will make the matchday squad, however. Rogério, for one, is being linked with a January exit from the club so he will probably be left behind to continue his rehab so that he can get in the best shape for a possible transfer.
If the reports of his exit hold no water, he is still unlikely to be on the trip to Bayern because he has not played for Wolfsburg since August. This would be a big match to welcome him back.
Both teams will be busy in the January transfer window as well, but we do not expect any debutants to play in the match.
Line-ups
Here is what we expect both teams’ starting XIs to look like for this match.
FC Bayern Munich: Neuer; Laimer, Upamecano, Kim, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Sané, Olise, Coman; Kane.
VfL Wolfsburg: Grabara; Fischer, Bornauw, Zesiger, Kaminski; Arnold, Svanberg; Baku, Majer, Tomás; Wimmer.
Prediction
Only an act of God will stop even the worst Bayern Munich side from winning this game at home. Yes, they have been beaten by many at their fortress, but it is unlikely that Wolfsburg will deal them a loss this season, especially as it did not happen on matchday 1 at the Volkswagen Arena.
We predict a win for the Bavarians, but we also predict that it will not be easy. Football remains an unpredictable sport, regardless.
FC Bayern Munich 2 – 0 VfL Wolfsburg.
