BERLIN -Champions Bayern Munich are confident they will put Wednesday’s momentary blip in the German Cup behind them when they travel to Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday, while fireworks are expected when Hamburg SV revive their derby with St Pauli.
Bayern looked to be cruising to an easy win on Wednesday when they went 2-0 up at third-tier Wehen Wiesbaden before conceding two goals in six minutes to see the hosts draw level.
Bayern striker Harry Kane’s stoppage-time winner sent them through to the second round but their backline’s shaky second-half performance and their conversion rate in attack raised some eyebrows.
“I would not call it a nail-biting performance from us,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said.
“We did not do everything right but we stayed calm until the end and this happens in football sometimes.
“I know that against Augsburg we will carry our momentum with us. We have built up that momentum in the pre-season.”
If results in competitive matches this season are anything to go by then Bayern look ready, having won all three of their games so far, including the German Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and their 6-0 demolition of RB Leipzig in their Bundesliga opener last week.
But questions remain over the size of their squad, with widespread speculation about potential late transfers to boost their frontline, including that of Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, even if they are just loan deals.
The Bavarians failed to land several of their targeted players in the close season, including Florian Wirtz and Nick Woltemade.
A completely different derby takes place on Friday on the other side of the country, with former European champions and promoted Hamburg SV hosting city rivals St Pauli in their first Bundesliga home game since their relegation in 2018.
The 112th Hamburg derby is expected to be a fiery affair, with the six-time German champions out to restore their local dominance having played second fiddle to St Pauli in recent years.
“I have experienced many things at RB Leipzig but never such a derby,” said Hamburg captain Yussuf Poulsen, who joined this season. “I am relishing this and look forward to my very first home game at the Volkspark stadium.”
Bayern’s potential title rivals Borussia Dortmund, who drew their league opener last week, host Union Berlin on Sunday.
Fellow Champions League club Bayer Leverkusen travel to Werder Bremen a day earlier.
