Vincent Kompany says Bayern Munich are motivated by the prospect of winning the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup at Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park on Saturday.
The German champions face their Bundesliga rivals in Dortmund, where Niko Kovac’s side earned their place in the season-opening showpiece after finishing second in the league last term.
Bayern, meanwhile, won both the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal under Kompany, setting up another meeting in one of German football’s fiercest rivalries.
The fixture will be the 140th between Dortmund and Bayern since the Bundesliga began, making it the most frequently played match in German professional football.
Bayern have lost to Dortmund 33 times – more than against any other side in professional football. However, they are unbeaten in their past eight away games against Dortmund in all competitions, winning six and drawing two.
Kompany is not concerned about Bayern playing in front of Dortmund’s home support. Instead, he sees the venue as an opportunity to secure silverware at the ground of their biggest rivals.
“That doesn’t bother me. It would be great if we could win a title in Dortmund,” said Kompany.
“Maybe it could have been with 50-50 fans; that would have added a bit more of a final atmosphere. But winning a title away in Dortmund would also be very nice.
“The quality and power of the Dortmund team is high. There’s no tougher challenge in the Bundesliga.”
Kovac will take part in the Supercup for the third time as a manager, with his previous two appearances coming while he was in charge of Bayern.
The Dortmund manager has won only one of his 12 competitive matches against Bayern, drawing two and losing nine. His sole victory came when he led Eintracht Frankfurt to a 3-1 win over Bayern in the 2017-18 DFB-Pokal final.
Kovac believes home advantage could help Dortmund, although he says the match will also provide an early indication of both teams’ progress at the beginning of the campaign.
“We’re at the start of the season. No one really knows where they stand yet,” said Kovac.
“That’s why this game will be an indicator. We want to win this game – we’re playing at home. The first title is up for grabs, and we’d love to keep it here.”
Players to watch
Borussia Dortmund – Gregor Kobel
Dortmund kept 15 clean sheets in the Bundesliga last season, the highest total in the division. It was also a club record, matched only by their teams in 2011-12 and 2019-20.
Gregor Kobel conceded 34 goals from 39.7 expected goals against, while making 89 saves.
Bayern Munich – Harry Kane
Harry Kane scored 61 goals in 51 appearances in all competitions for Bayern last season.
Since Bayern’s promotion to the Bundesliga, only Gerd Muller has scored more goals for the club in all competitive matches during a single campaign. Muller scored 66 in 1972-73.
Against German clubs, Kane has scored more goals in all competitions against only Stuttgart, against whom he has 14. He has scored 10 times against Dortmund.
Bayern favoured to win
This will be the 27th edition of the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup and the 10th meeting between Bayern and Dortmund in the competition. No other fixture has been contested more than twice in the Supercup.
Dortmund have won only one of their past five Supercup matches: a 2-0 home victory over Bayern in 2019-20. They have lost their last two games in the competition.
Only Bayern have endured a longer losing run in the Supercup, when they lost three in a row between 2013-14 and 2015-16.
Bayern lost only three of their 55 competitive matches last season, winning 46 and drawing six. That equalled a club record, with only their treble-winning campaign in 2012-13 producing as few defeats.
For only the second time since 2020-21, Bayern scored in every competitive match during a season. They found the net 184 times in 55 competitive games, their highest total in a single campaign.
Bayern’s 89 points in the 2025-26 Bundesliga season represented their third-best total. They collected 91 points in 2012-13 and 90 in 2013-14. They also won the DFB-Pokal for the first time in six years.
Dortmund recorded their best Bundesliga campaign in seven years with 73 points, matching the total they achieved in 2018-19.
Opta’s win probability gives Bayern a 53.1% chance of victory, compared with 24.1% for Dortmund. The probability of a draw is 22.8%.
