Vincent Kompany makes 'important role' Nicolas Jackson statement ahead of Bayern vs Chelsea

Chelsea’s Champions League fixture list is shocker and up first is Bayern Munich with the possible return of Nicolas Jackson.

Opening fixtures for the Champions League don’t get much tougher for Chelsea with a trip to Germany to take on Bayern Munich.

Bayern Munich's Belgian coach Vincent Kompany Auckland attends a press conference at the TQL stadium in Cincinnati on June 14, 2025 on the eve of the Club World Cup 2025 football match between Germany's Bayern Munich and New Zealand's Auckland City. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP) (Photo by FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images

placeholder image — Bayern Munich's Belgian coach Vincent Kompany Auckland attends a press conference at the TQL stadium in Cincinnati on June 14, 2025 on the eve of the Club World Cup 2025 football match between Germany's Bayern Munich and New Zealand's Auckland City. (Photo by Federico PARRA / AFP) (Photo by FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images

Out of the eight league phase fixtures, it isn’t unreasonable to suggest that the Blues could end up having played the champions from Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands and Spain, making it as hard a list of fixtures as they could have been handed despite their status as Club World Cup champions.

Vincent Kompany backs Nicolas Jackson to be key player for Bayern

The reality is, if Chelsea want to add the Champions League to the Europa Conference League trophy and Club World Cup triumph, then they will need to beat the best teams in the continent. Typically though, the first game sees an immediate return for Nicolas Jackson who could be in Bayern’s starting line-up after completing a late move to the Bundesliga.

Speaking at the weekend, Kompany has backed the often criticised former Chelsea striker to have a positive impact for his side this season despite frustrating more than he delivered whilst in the Premier League, via Merkur, the Bayern boss said:

"I've said from the beginning that I have 100 percent confidence in the players we have. The most important thing is that I'm happy to start any player. I have 100 percent confidence in all of them. That also applies to the players who are currently unavailable due to injury.

"We're always very flexible up front, and I think that's a good thing. That's why Nicolas Jackson's profile is totally compatible. That's why he'll play an important role next season."

What sort of form are Bayern in this season?

It won’t come as a surprise to find Bayern top of the Bundesliga table after three games with 14 goals scored and two conceded. A 6-0 win over RB Leipzig and a 5-0 win over Hamburg setting early markers as they attempt to retain their title under Kompany.

The Belgian lost star man Jamal Musiala during the Club World Cup and he could be out for most of the season.

With Leroy Sane leaving at the end of his contract, Bayern went looking for a safe pair of hands and signed Luis Diaz from Liverpool for around £65m.

The Colombian has enjoyed a successful start to his career in Germany too with four goals and two assists in just five games. Between Diaz, Harry Kane and Michael Olise, Bayern have more than enough weapons to trouble the Chelsea defence if they aren’t on top of their game.