Pretenders to the crown Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and cup holders Stuttgart are priming themselves for a run at Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga title after a frustrating summer transfer window for the Bavarian giants.
Bayern travel to Stuttgart on Saturday for the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup — the season opener which pits the defending league champions against the reigning German Cup victors.
Winners of 12 of the past 13 Bundesliga titles, Bayern occupy their usual role as favourites for the crown.
This summer, however, the 34-time league champions have not had everything go their own way.
Efforts to lure Florian Wirtz away from Leverkusen fell flat, with the German footballer of the year opting rather for a move to the Premier League and Liverpool.
Although Bayern secured attacke