Bayern Munich host Union Berlin at the Allianz Arena on 18 September 2026, Bundesliga matchday 4, with the quality gap between the two sides already looking stark three games in. Bayern sit fourth with seven points and need a strong home performance to close the gap on the early leaders, while Union are 16th with a single point and have already conceded ten goals. Bayern arrive after a 5-0 Champions League demolition of Bodo/Glimt, whereas Union have lost two and drawn one of their opening three fixtures.
This will be the first meeting between Vincent Kompany and Mauro Lustrinelli at this level. Kompany has been in charge since 1 July 2024, when he replaced Thomas Tuchel and his side is built on Kimmich's role as the deep anchor that allows the three ahead of him to press in waves. Lustrinelli only took over on 21 May 2026 (stepping in after interim coach Marie-Louise Eta when Steffen Baumgart left in April) and has had less than four months to shape a squad that finished last season in chaos.
Bayern have won three of their last four across all competitions and hit double figures in goals doing it: a 5-1 thrashing of Stuttgart on 28 August and that 5-0 Champions League rout of Bodo/Glimt on 10 September stand out, with only a 0-0 draw against Schalke on 5 September breaking the pattern. Union's picture is considerably grimmer. A 1-3 defeat to Schalke on 11 September, a 0-4 loss to Bayer Leverkusen on 5 September and a 3-3 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt on 29 August add up to three games without a win, ten goals conceded and only four scored. The story tells itself.
Bayern will be without Tarek Buchmann through a knee injury, which limits their defensive rotation but should not alter the starting backline. The more damaging news is for Union, who are missing both Andrej Ilic and Josip Juranovic through illness, leaving their backline and midfield even thinner than usual. Leon Goretzka and Raphael Guerreiro have also departed Bayern's squad this season, meaning existing midfield and full back options will need to cover more ground in rotation.
Bayern typically line up in a 4-2-3-1 built around Harry Kane's finishing, Michael Olise's ability to unlock defences from wide or central positions, Jamal Musiala's surges through the middle and Joshua Kimmich's control from deep. Olise and Musiala should find space between Union's midfield and back four against a backline that has been carved open ten times in three games and Union's central defenders have already proved they can be undone in a variety of ways. Kane does not need an invitation.
Lustrinelli wants Union to press high but ten goals conceded in three games suggests the shape is breaking at the back when possession turns over. Leopold Querfeld will need to hold the back line together without the usual support of Ilic and Juranovic, goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow faces a heavy workload and Union are unlikely to dominate the ball. Their best chance of anything is probably a set piece.
Buchmann's absence slightly reduces Bayern's defensive rotation and may nudge Kimmich to drop a little deeper at times but it is Union's absentees that alter the picture more. Losing Ilic and Juranovic removes two players who could have helped deal with Bayern's wide overloads and quick combinations, leaving an already leaky defence with even less cover.
Bayern are 10 wins from 15 previous meetings with Union, with five draws and no losses and the recent record reinforces the same picture: a 4-0 league win in March 2026, a 3-2 DFB-Pokal victory in December 2025 and a 2-2 draw in November 2025 represent three of the more competitive recent outcomes and Bayern came out ahead in two of them.
Union's best chance of a goal may come from a dead ball and Bayern have been known to switch off from set pieces even under Kompany. That said, Bayern are unbeaten across 17 Friday Bundesliga fixtures and the number that casts the longest shadow over this match is still Union's ten goals conceded in three league games.
Bayern Munich 4-1 Union Berlin. Even without Buchmann, Kompany has Kane, Olise and Musiala to pick apart a defence shipping goals at more than three per game and the illness enforced absences of Ilic and Juranovic make Union's task harder still. A consolation from a dead ball feels like the most realistic outcome for the visitors but Bayern should be ahead by half time and the game effectively over shortly after, with a three goal night looking very plausible on these defensive numbers.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
