Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany is taking Friday’s preseason friendly against Aston Villa pretty seriously. The Belgian confirmed, following his side’s 2-1 win over Jeju SK earlier today in South Korea that he’ll field a stronger team on Friday than he did on Tuesday.
It is very likely that Aston Villa manager Unai Emery will do the same. Villa bested BG Pathum United earlier today, 3-1, so now they will also turn their attention to the weekend match that now seems to feel more and more meaningful.
Audi Football Summitt 2026
Bayern Munich vs Aston Villa
Fri. Aug. 7, Kai Tak Stadium, Kai Tak Sports Park, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Kickoff: 1:00 PM BST, 2:00 PM CEST, 8:00 AM EDT
Team News for Both Sides: coming later this week
Starting XI Predictions for Both Sides: coming later this week
Stream: FC Bayern TV Plus
”I think the players who played 30 minutes today will be able to play 60 minutes on Friday. And those who got 60 minutes today will play 30 on Friday. Lucho Díaz, (Konrad) Laimer, and (Josip) Stanišić are not ready for that yet. But the German internationals, (Kim) Min-jae and (Hiroki) Itō are ready. Guys like (Tom) Bischof and (Arijon) Ibrahimović who did all the preparation with us can do a bit extra.
“We want to perform and get a result,” Kompany said (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
In the cases of Stanišić, Díaz and Laimer, they joined up with the FC Bayern squad later on during the summer, so they are still working towards building up to that 90 minutes match fit level.
Meanwhile the situation is different for players like Kim, Itō, Bischof and Ibrahimović, who have been with the squad all summer long. They will only see their minutes increase from here on out. Time is running low, this preseason, for both of these squads.
Pretty soon, the matches will have true significance.
As the holders of the Europa League title, Villa will be in the UEFA Super Cup against Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain. That is only one week away from tomorrow, and this Bayern match will serve as the final tune-up before the trophy clash.
As for Bayern, they have one more friendly after this weekend, on Aug. 15 versus RB Leipzig. Then the comes the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, formerly known as the DFB-Supercup and DFL-Supercup on August 22, which pairs the previous season’s Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal winners.
The 2026 edition is a Der Klassiker, as Bayern will face arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.