The season did not begin as Bayern Munich would have wanted with Pep Guardiola's men going down to their biggest title rivals Borussia Dortmund in the German Super Cup. But then, Bayern also lost that particular match at the beginning of last season before breaking all sorts of records on their way to the Bundesliga title.
Where to Watch Live
The game is scheduled for an 8.30 pm local time (12 am IST) start with the match set to be shown live on Indian TV on Neo Prime. Viewers in Germany can catch the action on ARD or Sky Bundesliga, with the live streaming option HERE. Watch the match in the UK live on BT Sport, with the action can also be live streamed HERE. Viewers in the US can watch the game on Gol TV USA, while audience in Brazil can catch the action on ESPN with the option to live stream HERE. Viewers in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa can watch the match live online HERE.
Bayern Munich, though, head into their Bundesliga 2014-15 opener against Wolfsburg with plenty of worries, chief of them being injuries to several of their star players.
Guardiola has not been able to get a proper preseason going with his side mainly due to injuries and the fact that some of the most important players were involved in the World Cup, leading Germany all the way to the title.
While the preparation, leading up to the opening match of the Bundesliga, might not have been ideal, Bayern remain the clear favourites to retain their crown.
"Playing one of the best teams in the league when you're in our situation isn't easy," Guardiola admitted. "I'm not concerned. The solution is to run hard and simply play our football. Winning the first match would be very important for our confidence."
Bayern will be without Bastian Schweinsteiger, Franck Ribery, Javi Martinez, Thiago Alcantara, Rafinha and Jerome Boateng for the match at the Allianz Arena against Wolfsburg, with their opponents raring to go after making some interesting acquisitions in the summer.
Wolfsburg will target a finish in the Champions League places in the Bundesliga this season after bringing in Aaron Hunt, Joshua Guilavogui and Nicklas don't-know-what-you-are-going-to-get Bendtner.
"Wolfsburg are extremely dangerous and have brought in a lot of potential," said Holger Badstuber, who could make his league comeback after 18 months out through injury. "They have a lot of hungry players who want to go very far."
One player who will be up for the game against Bayern will be former striker Ivica Olic, who will hope to lead Wolfsburg to three points on opening day by preferably striking the winner.
"I always enjoy coming back," Olic said. "I had the best season of my career with Bayern. We played really well against strong opponents in the Champions League, and I'll never forget it.
"But I'm on the opposing team now. We've played a few times in Munich with me in the team but we've always lost. I'm hopeful we might open the season with a surprise."
Even with the number of players missing from this Bayern side for the game on Friday, Guardiola has some serious quality at his disposal, and if enough of them strike form, then they should be able to begin the defence of their Bundesliga title on the perfect note, irrespective of how well Wolfsburg play.
