FC Bayern Munich will start the new Champions League season on Tuesday, September 17th. The record champions will kick off the newly designed premier class at home in the Allianz Arena in Munich against Dinamo Zagreb (from 9 p.m. in the LIVETICKER).

After the loss of right-back Sacha Boey, Alphonso Davies moved into the starting line-up. For a long time, it was unclear whether the trained left-back would also take Boey’s position. Raphael Guerreiro, who most recently played as a left-back, will also play from the start, as will Joshua Kimmich, who was initially listed as a right-back in the UEFA line-up.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany did not want to reveal his tactical plan immediately before kick-off. “Up to now, I have never discussed the line-up.” I think that is unnecessary. I think we have discussed everything. “We have prepared well and know what we have to do,” said Kompany at DAZN.

After kick-off, the mystery was finally solved: Guerreiro played as right-back, Davies on the left and Kimmich in central midfield alongside Aleksandar Pavlovic.

In attack, Michael Olise is back in the starting line-up compared to the game in Kiel. The new signing from Crystal Palace is thus making his debut in the Champions League.

• Bavaria: Neuer – Guerreiro, Upamecano, Kim, Davies – Kimmich, Pavlovic – Olise, Musiala, Gnabry – Kane
• Zagreb: Nevistic – Ristovski, Theophile-Catherine, Mmaee, Ogiwara – Misic, Rog, Pierre-Gabriel, Baturina, Pjaca – Petkovic

Full-back Boey will be missing from Bayern for the foreseeable future due to a torn meniscus. “Unfortunately, I have had a lot of injuries in my career. Cups are not won in September or October. He has to work now, it can still be a top season for him. He has to keep that in mind,” said Kompany about Boey, who has been repeatedly set back by injuries since his transfer from Galatasaray Istanbul in the winter.

The opening match against the Croatian team is only the beginning of a successful CL season for Bayern, as the final on May 31, 2025 will take place in the Allianz Arena and there, coach Vincent Kompany’s team will be raising the trophy for the seventh time in the club’s history in the “Finale dahoam 2.0”.

For Bayern coach Vincent Kompany, this is all a thing of the future. He said emphatically weeks ago that you don’t reach a final like this “because we talk about it, but because we work hard for it.”

So far, the Munich team is on the right track under their new coach. Bayern won their first four competitive matches fairly comfortably – even “underdog” Zagreb should not be a stumbling block. “We have to keep winning, we just have to keep going.” “It has to be good again on Tuesday – and then again, and so on,” said Kompany. Last season, Bayern only failed in the semi-finals against eventual winners Real Madrid.

Dinamo Zagreb, on the other hand, is not represented in the premier class of European football every season. The Croatian club has also never made it past the group stage. The last time they took part in the 22/23 season, Dinamo had to take on Chelsea, Salzburg and AC Milan in Group E and, despite a promising opening win against Chelsea, ended up in last place. Last season, however, Zagreb failed to qualify for the CL at all.

FC Bayern and Dinamo Zagreb have played against each other four times so far. The German record champions have won two games, the two teams have drawn once and Zagreb has won one game. The last meeting, however, was almost ten years ago and took place during the CL group stage in 2015.

The Champions League is starting the new season with a major reform. Instead of group matches, there will be a league – with 36 teams instead of the previous 32. Each team will face eight opponents who were drawn beforehand. Each team will have four home and four away matches.

In the league there are still three points for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss.

The first eight teams in the league qualify for the round of 16. The teams in places ninth to 16 play in knockout round playoffs against the clubs in places 17 to 24 for the remaining eight round of 16 tickets. The teams in places 25 to 36 are out and do not play in the Europa League.

The first matchday of the Champions League will exceptionally be played over three days. Because the Europa League and Conference League are still on hiatus, games will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Two matches will kick off at 6:45 p.m. (in the LIVETICKER), the remaining matches at 9:00 p.m. (in the LIVETICKER).