Vincent Kompany said his Bayern Munich team must continue to acknowledge that they are many Bundesliga side's "final" ahead of facing Augsburg this weekend.
Bayern are top of the table by 11 points to Borussia Dortmund in second, and have sent records tumbling during their record-breaking start to the 2025-26 campaign.
However, they were put through their paces in midweek, needing until the second half to confirm a 2-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Harry Kane scored twice and missed a penalty for Kompany's side, who also saw Min-Jae Kim sent off for a second bookable offence with 27 minutes of the match remaining.
Indeed, Saint-Gilloise were only the second side this season to not concede a goal in a first half away at Bayern in all competitions, after Sporting CP in the Champions League.
And despite their differing positions in the standings, Kompany believes that Augsburg will have learned a few tricks ahead of making the trip to Allianz Arena on Saturday.
"Augsburg will certainly have seen how the last few games have gone. We always had difficulties, that's normal, it's the Bundesliga, the games aren't that easy," Kompany said.
"If we look at the game against Union Saint-Gilloise the day before yesterday – the system and profile of the players, I can imagine that they've learnt a lot from it and have big plans and will believe they'll get their chances.
"For us, that means it's like a final for our opponents, like winning a trophy for many teams. Playing against us is not something we want to make easy.
"That means we don't differentiate between Augsburg or Leipzig, we want to perform at the highest level, no matter what comes our way. But it will always be like a final."
𝗡𝗘𝗫𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛: Full focus on the league
— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) January 22, 2026
We host FC Augsburg on Saturday at home! pic.twitter.com/8lBq6BuK4q
One player that will not be involved this weekend is defender Dayot Upamecano, who Kompany confirmed is suffering with an illness that kept him out of midweek action.
"He's ill. Unfortunately, he's out," Kompany added. "Josip Stanisic, Konrad Laimer, Sacha Boey and now Upamecano are all defenders we don't have."
The Bayern boss was, however, confident about finding solutions in the Frenchman's absence.
"Nevertheless, we have good competition for places. Hiroki Ito is fit, Minjae Kim is fit, Raphael Guerreiro and Tom Bischof," Kompany said.
"Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka can also play there for us. But I never really worry about the starting team because I've always been reassured by the reliability of the team."
Augsburg, meanwhile, have started 2026 with back-to-back draws against Union Berlin and Freiburg, leaving them precariously close to the drop zone.
They currently sit 15th, three points above Heidenheim, who occupy the relegation play-off spot after 18 games of their campaign.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Bayern Munich – Michael Olise
Michael Olise has recorded 13 assists this season. Since detailed data collection began in 2004-05, only Thomas Muller (14 in 2021-22) has achieved more after 18 matchdays.
He has also reached double figures for both goals (ten) and assists (13). Only Jadon Sancho (ten goals, ten assists in 2019-20) during his stint at Borussia Dortmund had previously managed this feat after 18 matchdays of a Bundesliga season on record (2004-05).
Augsburg – Alexis Claude-Maurice
Alexis Claude-Maurice recently scored in consecutive Bundesliga matches (two goals) for the first time, having previously gone 24 Bundesliga appearances without a goal.
He is the first Augsburg player to score in consecutive Bundesliga games in over a year, since Philipp Tietz between November and December 2024.