BERLIN: Who can end Bayern Munich’s winning start to the season?
After a week in which they defeated European champion Paris Saint-Germain and 2024 Bundesliga champion Bayer Leverkusen to stretch their record to 16 wins across all competitions, Bayern should be wary of a surprise against Union Berlin in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Union have never beaten Bayern at home in the Bundesliga since their promotion in 2019, but the Bavarian powerhouse can count on a battle in Köpenick, where Union held Bayern to 1-1 last season and where Steffen Baumgart’s team are unbeaten in four games across all competitions.
Bayern were also drawn at Union in the next round of the German Cup in early December.
Another win in the league for Bayern would match the team’s 10-game winning start in 2015 under Pep Guardiola.
Key matchups
Borussia Mönchengladbach host Cologne for the Rhine derby on Saturday, with both teams confident after morale-boosting wins. Cologne beat promoted rival Hamburger SV 4-1, and Gladbach enjoyed a 4-0 win at St. Pauli for their first Bundesliga win of the season, and the first under interim coach Eugen Polanski.
Borussia Dortmund will attempt to bounce back from their 4-1 defeat at Manchester City in the Champions League when they visit promoted Hamburger SV on Saturday.
Niko Kovač’s side had been on a four-game winning run since a 2-1 loss at Bayern.
Elsewhere, Leipzig haven’t lost a game since the 6-0 defeat at Bayern in the opening round. Ole Werner’s team travel to Hoffenheim for what rivals tauntingly call “El Plastico.”
Leipzig and Hoffenheim are among the league’s most unpopular teams because their ascents to the Bundesliga were financed by energy drinks company Red Bull and software billionaire Dietmar Hopp, respectively. Hoffenheim advertised tickets for the game by calling it “Der Unbeliebtico” – a play on the German word for disliked.
Players to watch
Luis Diaz will be keen to make amends for getting sent off during Bayern’s win at PSG for a bad tackle on Achraf Hakimi. The injured Morocco right back faces a race against time to be back for the Africa Cup of Nations in his home country.
Union defender Leopold Querfeld will be tasked with keeping Bayern’s attacking trio of Diaz, Harry Kane and Michael Olize in check – no small order for the 21-year-old Austria international.
Ivory Coast teenager Yan Diomande forced an own goal and scored another in Leipzig’s 3-1 win over Stuttgart, showing why there’s so much excitement about the 18-year-old who joined from Spanish team Leganes in the offseason.
Dutch midfielder Wout Burger scored twice in Hoffenheim’s 3-2 win over Wolfsburg last weekend, helping the team to sixth with their third straight Bundesliga win.
Off the field
Germany presented their new national team shirt on Wednesday — the last produced by Adidas before Nike takes over in 2027 — and it’s an homage to the jersey worn by West Germany when it won the World Cup in 1990. It features the black, red and yellow stripes of the German flag stretching from the shoulders across the chest.
According to business newspaper Handelsblatt, Nike is paying the German soccer federation some 100 million euros per year, twice as much as it was earning from longstanding supplier Adidas, to take the business from its German rival.
The new shirt will make its debut when the Germany men face Luxembourg in a World Cup qualifier on Nov. 14. The women will get to wear it on Nov. 28 in the Nations League final against Spain.
Bundesliga record in sight as Bayern Munich aims to keep winning run going
https://arab.news/m4zak
Bundesliga record in sight as Bayern Munich aims to keep winning run going
- Union have never beaten Bayern at home in the Bundesliga since their promotion in 2019
- Bayern were also drawn at Union in the next round of the German Cup in early December
Dakar Rally Saudi Arabia 2026 countdown begins ahead of Jan. 3 start
- * Redesigned course introduces fresh challenges that will raise the intensity of competition
- * Event highlights Kingdom’s aims of becoming a global leader in motorsport, says Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, SAMF chairman
JEDDAH: The countdown for Dakar Rally Saudi Arabia 2026, one of the world’s toughest rally events, has begun with less than a month remaining before the seventh consecutive edition hosted in the Kingdom gets underway.
The rally will take place from Jan. 3-17 under the supervision of the Ministry of Sport. It will be organized by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation and promoted by the Saudi Motorsport Company.
Global attention will be focused on the rally as competitors prepare for a gruelling test across Saudi Arabia’s vast and varied terrain.
The upcoming edition is set to be one of the most distinctive yet, featuring a new route that will give competitors the chance to experience the Kingdom’s natural beauty, varied landscapes and historic sites.
The redesigned course introduces fresh challenges that will raise the intensity of competition, adding excitement throughout every stage.
Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation and the Saudi Motorsport Company, said: “The Dakar Rally is more than just a race; it is part of the Kingdom’s ambitious journey toward becoming a global leader in motorsport.”
This year’s rally marked a pivotal moment for Saudi motorsport when Yazeed Al-Rajhi became the first Saudi driver to claim the title in the cars category.
“It’s a milestone we are all proud of and hope to see repeated next year,” Prince Khalid said.
The SAMF chairman added: “What makes us especially proud this year is the rising number of Saudi drivers taking part, a clear indication of the success of our talent-development initiatives and next-generation programs. These achievements are the result of national efforts we all take pride in.”
Dakar Saudi Arabia 2026 will welcome 812 competitors representing 69 countries, competing with 433 vehicles across eight categories: Ultimate B, Ultimate, Stock, Challenger, Side-by-Side, Trucks, in addition to motorbikes and quad bikes. The rally will cover a total distance of 7,999 km, including 4,845 km of timed special stages.
Competition begins on Jan. 3, with a 23 km prologue stage in Yanbu, followed by stage 1 on Jan. 4 over 305 km starting and finishing in Yanbu.
Stage 2 will take place on Jan. 5 from Yanbu to AlUla (400 km), with stage 3 held in AlUla on Jan. 6 (422 km). Stage 4 follows on Jan. 7 from AlUla to the Marathon Camp (451 km).
Stage 5 runs on Jan. 8 from the Marathon Camp to Hail (372 km), and stage 6 on Jan. 9 from Hail to Riyadh (336 km).
Jan. 10 will be a rest day for the competitors in Riyadh.
Action continues Jan. 11 with stage 7 from Riyadh to Wadi Al-Dawasir (462 km), followed by stage 8 on Jan. 12 in Wadi Al-Dawasir (481 km). Stage 9 will run on Jan. 13 January toward the Marathon Camp (410 km). The rally moves on to stage 10 on Jan. 14 from the Marathon Camp to Bisha (421 km), then stage 11 on Jan. 15 from Bisha to Al-Hanakiyah (347 km).
Stage 12 follows on Jan. 16 January from Al-Hanakiyah to Yanbu (310 km), before the event concludes with the 13th and final stage in Yanbu on Jan. 17, covering 105 km.
All distances listed refer to timed special stages.
