Bayern Munich remain the familiar German reference point: founded in 1900, based at the Allianz Arena, and carrying the sort of weight that makes any meeting with them a proper measure rather than a curiosity.
Their 2026-27 season is still taking shape. They sit fourth in the Bundesliga, with a Champions League league-phase campaign on the slate, a DFL-Supercup final behind them, and a DFB-Pokal run that reached the second round.
The squad is deep and expensive, valued at around £823.5m by Transfermarkt. It is also relatively young for a club of this standing, with 34 players at an average age of 24.
At home, the numbers are blunt: an average of five goals scored and one conceded per match, with Bayern regularly clearing the two-goal mark. Away from Munich they have been tighter and less expansive, averaging one goal scored and 0.5 conceded.
Recent league form has been steady rather than flawless, including wins over Elversberg, Stuttgart, Cologne and Wolfsburg, alongside draws with Schalke 04 and Heidenheim. Michael Olise leads their scoring with five goals, ahead of Harry Kane on four.
For Celtic supporters, Bayern are a neutral opponent only in the technical sense. They are a high-grade European benchmark: wealthy, efficient, and dangerous enough to punish loose work quickly.
