Bayern Munich vs Manchester City

A blockbuster pre-season friendly pits perennial Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich against their Premier League counterparts Manchester City at the National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo.

Bayern Munich won a record-extending 11th-straight Bundesliga title last season in bizarre fashion as Borussia Dortmund slumped to a 2-2 final-day draw at home to help the ‘Bavarians’ maintain their long-term domestic supremacy. Keen to get back on track, Thomas Tuchel’s team enjoyed a perfect pre-season start, thumping amateur side Rottach-Egern 27-0 in their opening summer friendly! That result marked Bayern’s fifth victory in six matches, except for a morale-damaging 3-1 home loss to RB Leipzig. Amid the uncertainty surrounding Sadio Mane’s future, the Germans take on a high-flying Man City side, seeking revenge for an embarrassing 4-1 aggregate defeat in last season’s Champions League quarter-finals. But having lost three of their four most recent H2Hs (D1), they’re hardly in a position to dream big despite netting 2+ goals in four of their last five matches against top-tier rivals.

On the other hand, Manchester City became only the second-ever Premier League club to acquire a coveted treble last term, winning their domestic championship, Champions League, and FA Cup. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering side eked out a 1-0 win over Inter Milan in a dramatic Champions League final before squeezing past cross-town rivals Manchester United 2-1 in the FA Cup title decider. Those victories form part of a three-game winning streak in all competitions after back-to-back winless outings beforehand (D1, L1). A goal-glutted 5-3 win over defending J1 League 1 champions Yokohama F. Marinos in their first pre-season friendly put the icing on the cake, seeing Man City score as many goals as in their five previous games combined.