Bayern Munich vs Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur head to Munich to take on Bundesliga champions FC Bayern at the Allianz Arena, on their final friendly outing before they face Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup on 13th August.
Thomas Frank’s Spurs have a Premier League opener against Burnley the following Saturday, so he will use this clash on Thursday to measure up his team in readiness for the big kick-off. It is a serious test against Vincent Kompany’s Bayern Munich, the SBOTOP favourites to lift the German title.
Bayern have a further week to prepare before they have their season opener against Red Bull Leipzig, but, of the two managers I think Kompany probably needs that extra time.
A difficult window for Bayern recently got better
A week ago fans in Bavaria were beginning to get a little concerned as they watched their club struggle to get their targets through the door, starting with Florian Wirtz’ decision to snub Bayern in favour of Liverpool when he left Bayer Leverkusen. The champions were tracking the likes of PSG’s Bradley Barcola, AC Milan’s Rafeal Leao and Athletic Club’s much sought after winger Nico Williams.
Jonathan Tah from Leverkusen and Tom Bischof from Hoffenheim, both on a free, were the only incomings…until five days ago, when winger Luis Diaz arrived from Liverpool in a £70m deal. The 28 year old scored 29 goals in 103 games for the Reds, winning the Premier League and the FA Cup while also bagging 19 goals in 64 games for Colombia. A fast and tricky operator Diaz is in the prime of his career and he will plug the gap in the squad which will be left by Leroy Sane who refused to sign an extended contract with Die Bayern.
Kompany’s men kicked off their pre-season campaign with a 2-1 win over Olympique Lyonnais as former Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise scored a brace, and Serge Gnabry made an assist. The Bundesliga 2025 betting odds back another triumph for the Bavarians this year but Bayern Munich’s rivals will all be watching their activity in the market over the next couple of weeks, as well as their progress on the pitch.
Palhinha switches Munich for Spurs
While their hosts have laboured in the market, Tottenham have been steadily busy, with the marquee signing of Mohamed Kudus from West Ham United arriving early in the window. And the big Premier League news circling around North London this week is the loan signing of midfield ace Joao Palhinha…from Bayern. The 30 year old Selecao star signed for the Bundesliga giants last summer for a princely fee of £45m but he has not found life to his liking in Bavaria where he made just 17 appearances last season. Palhinha returns to London where he made such an impression at Fulham as one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the game; strong in the tackle, direct running and with the ability to time his runs to perfection, scoring seven goals in 68 games for the Cottagers, who doubled their investment having signed him from Sporting Lisbon two years earlier.
The 34 times Portugal international can operate as a defensive midfielder too, and he could turn out to be the perfect back up to Spurs’ creative unit. And, if the move works out, Tottenham have the option to make the deal permanent next summer at a fee of around £21m.
Palhinha was Fulham’s Player of the Season in 2022/23 but Kompany failed to get the best out of the player who thrived under Portuguese coach Marco Silva at Craven Cottage, and the Dane Frank may be the right man to get him back to his best, which is pretty darn good!
Spurs have another defensive midfielder in Pape Matar Sarr, who scored from all of 45 yards as Spurs beat Arsenal in Hong Kong to add to a brace he scored in a 2-2 draw with League 1 side Wycombe Wanderers. But this is a long season and, with Champions League football on the agenda too, Frank needs plenty of options and cover.
After beating the Gunners Tottenham were held to a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United in their final game in the Far East, a farewell for club legend Son Heung-Min who is leaving after ten glorious campaigns in North London, where he forged a lethal partnership with current Bayern star Harry Kane, scoring 12 goals in 33 appearances. Son looks destined for MLS soccer with Los Angeles and he leaves Spurs with everyone’s blessing.
Another injury to creaive midfielder James Maddison was a blow to the player and club and fans will be hoping his lay-off is not too long. Things are looking pretty good for Tottenham at the moment but Frank will hope he has better luck with injuries than his predecessor, Ange Postecoglou.
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