The Bundesliga has kicked off and Bayern Munich are top of the table after three matches, somethings never change you may say. But that is not the case, a lot has changed in Bavaria this summer.
Sadio Mane and Matthijs de Ligt among others have arrived and the club's talismanic figure, Robert Lewandowski has departed.
This has allowed for Bayern to adopt a different approach, one that is arguably more suited to Julian Nagelsmann's brand of football. One that centres around a variety of players contributing at the top end of the pitch rather than having a specific out and out striker.
Lewandowski's departure was also extremely inharmonious as he stated his desire on multiple occasions to leave the perennial champions.
As a result, he has left a negative mark on his time at Bayern especially with supporters who were overjoyed at the amount of times he left Bundesliga goalkeepers picking the ball out of the net.
The Pole's role in the team has been replaced by a number of players with Mané and the supremely talented Jamal Musiala sitting at the top of the scoring charts going into game week four.
Saturday's opponents , Borussia Monchengladbach have also had an impressive start, winning two of their opening three matches and only drew the other because of a last minute penalty.
Daniel Farke has enjoyed his opening few weeks at Borussia-Park and restored some faith into a fanbase that has been extremely underwhelmed in recent seasons.
On Saturday though, Farke's foals face the ultimate test in the Bundesliga. However, Gladbach have a better record than most against Germany's most successful club. In the past two campaigns, Bayern have only won one of the four encounters between the two sides but in typical fashion, that victory finished with a score line of 6-0.
The biggest warning sign for Saturday's visitors was the way the Bavarians were able to dismantle similar calibre opponents to Gladbach. Both Eintracht Frankfurt and Wolfsburg are expected to be in and around the European conversation this year but neither could lay a glove on Nagelsmann's unstoppable side.
Team News
Bayern Munich - The only major absentee for Bayern this weekend is midfielder Leon Goretzka who is expected to be out until mid-September with a knee operation. While fringe players, Bouna Sarr and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting are doubts.
Serge Gnabry and Musiala are ready to make their returns this weekend. Gnabry was only able to make the bench against Bochum last Sunday while Musiala missed out completely.
Borussia Monchengladbach - Marvin Friedrich and Lars Stindl are over their respective injuries and should be able to make Saturday's squad. While Ko Itakura and Ramy Bensebaini, who both started in the 1-0 win against Hertha, picked up knocks during the week but should be able to play.
Predicted lineups
Bayern Munich - Manuel Neuer; Benjamin Pavard, Matthijs de Ligt, Lucas Hernandez, Alphonso Davies; Joshua Kimmich, Marcel Sabitzer; Kingsley Coman, Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane; Sadio Mane
Borussia Monchengladbach - Yann Sommer; Joe Scally, Ko Itakura, Nico Elvedi, Ramy Bensebaini; Florian Neuhaus, Christoph Kramer, Kouadio Koné; Jonas Hofmann, Alassane Plea, Marcus Thuram
Form guide
Bayern Munich - WWW - last game - 7-0 vs Bochum
Borussia Monchengladbach - WDW - last game - 1-0 vs Hertha
Ones to watch
Bayern Munich - From both a commercial and footballing standpoint, Sadio Mané's arrival has been a blessing. Like any elite club when the face of it departs (Robert Lewandowski) a replacement has to be found whether that's internally or externally. In Bayern's instance, they picked up one of the most proven attackers in the entirety of world football. Mane not only is able to offer a comparable commercial value to the Bayern Munich brand but also offers a similar yet different proposition on the pitch.
The Senegalese international does not hold the same baggage that Lewandowski did in his final years and is able to contribute in a fluid interchanging attack. That can bring the best out of not only him but also the likes of Gnabry, Musiala and Sané.
Borussia Monchengladbach - For a number of years now, Jonas Hofmann has been Gladbach's most consistent performer and although the scorelines have been positive at the start of the 2022/23 the best result they have had is the new contract for Hofmann, signing a new deal until 2025 (with an option for 2026).
This gives the club and Farke clarity about the situation surrounding arguably their most important player. Hofmann, not only offers sufficient goal contributions but can also play in a variety of positions as shown by his performances at right back for Germany.
Previous meetings
As stated earlier, Die Fohlen are one of Bayern's bogey teams. In the past four clashes at the Allianz Arena each side has won twice. While at Borussia-Park, Gladbach have dominated in recent seasons with Bayern's last victory coming in March 2019.
The most memorable encounter was in the DFB Pokal last season when the foals won 5-0 against a full strength Bayern team, it is unlikely that we will see a repeat of that on Saturday evening!
Where to watch on TV
Saturday's game will kick off at 17:30 (BST), 18:30 (CET) and will be broadcast on Sky Sports Football.
What have the managers said
Daniel Farke - "Our past results against Bayern won't help us in Munich on Saturday. Still, we won't be going there to wave a white flag. We're highly motivated and can't wait for the match!"