Bayern Munich go into their Bundesliga meeting with Union Berlin on Sept. 18 in fourth place after taking two wins from their first three games, a start that leaves the defending champions off the pace they usually set. The match kicks off at 2.30 p.m. ET at Allianz Arena.
That standing is what makes the game a search target now: Bayern are still in position to steady themselves, but the table shows they have not opened the 2026/27 season with the kind of control that has defined their best runs. Harry Kane has only one goal in three games, a modest return for a side that expects more from its main scorer.
Union Berlin arrive with a very different problem. They are still looking for their first win of the season, which keeps the fixture from being just another league date and turns it into an early test for both teams, one trying to climb and the other trying to stop the slide from becoming a theme. In the Bayern Munich vs Union Berlin standings picture, Bayern are the club under pressure to justify their place near the top, while Union are already chasing the season’s first breakthrough.
There is also a practical reason so many viewers are checking the matchup today. The game will be streamed live for free on iPlayer in the UK, while viewers outside the UK can use ExpressVPN to access the stream because iPlayer is geo-restricted. ExpressVPN has servers in 105 countries, including the UK, making the broadcast reachable for fans who are not in the right location.
The larger point is simple enough. Bayern are the defending Bundesliga champions, but a fourth-place start after two wins from three games is not the sort of opening that usually comes with that title. If they want this season to look like the last one, the response has to start against Union Berlin, not later.
