Bayern's win over Union Berlin, coupled with Leipzig's slip up away at Borussia Dortmund last weekend, means Vincent Kompany's side have a 3-point cushion at the top of the table. They come into this game having edged past Benfica 1-0 in their midweek UEFA Champions League fixture.
They face a St. Pauli side that claimed its second league win of the season last weekend after beating against Hoffenheim 2-0 away -- a result that lifted Alexander Blessin's team out of the relegation zone.
St. Pauli host Bayern Munich at Millerntor Stadion in Hamburg on Saturday, Nov. 9. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m CET local time in Germany, making it a 9:30 a.m. ET or 6:30 a.m PT start in the US, a 2:30 p.m. GMT start in the UK and a 1:30 a.m. AEDT kickoff in Australia in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Alexander Blessin's St. Pauli are the Bundesliga's lowest scorers, having bagged just seven goals so far this term.
ESPN once again holds the broadcast rights for Bundesliga matches in the US, with its streaming service ESPN Plus set to show every match of the 2024-25 season live.
ESPN's standalone streaming service costs $11 a month or $110 for an annual subscription (which works out to just over $9 a month). The service will be broadcasting more than 300 Bundesliga fixtures live this season. Read our ESPN Plus review.
If you find yourself unable to view Bundesliga matches locally, you may need a different way to watch the games -- that's where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it's also a great idea if you're traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you're able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors' Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you're streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It's normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you'll get three months free and save 49%. That's the equivalent of $6.67 a month with code SPECIALDEAL, which should be automatically applied.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
While broadcast rights to show Bundesliga games live in the UK are with Sky Sports, this match has not been selected for live broadcast by the network.
That also means that if you're in the UK traveling for pleasure or for work, you're unlikely to be able to watch the game like you normally would at home, thanks to geoblocking.
There's one option to get around this, however. By using a VPN, as explained above, you can set your location to a country where the match is being broadcast and go from there.
Canadian soccer fans looking to watch the German top flight this season can watch every game live via DAZN, including this one.
A DAZN subscription costs CA$30 a month or CA$200 a year. It'll also give you access to Champions League, Europa League and EFL Championship soccer, plus Six Nations rugby and WTA tennis.
As well as dedicated apps for iOS and Android, there's a wide range of support for set-top boxes and smart TVs.
Football fans Down Under can watch Bundesliga fixtures live on BeIN Sports. The network will be showing all Bundesliga matches this term, plus relegation play-offs, DFL Super Cup games and select Bundesliga 2 fixtures.
BeIN Sports is available in Australia for AU$15 a month or a yearly commitment of $150. Bayern Munich travel to promoted St. Pauli on Saturday knowing a win will take them six points clear of RB Leipzig, who host mid-table Borussia Monchengladbach later in the day.
With defending champions Bayer Leverkusen not hitting last year's heights and Borussia Dortmund lacking consistency, Bayern and Leipzig have emerged as this season's title contenders.
But Leipzig's 2-1 loss at Dortmund last week, their first in the league this season, has given Vincent Kompany's Bayern the chance to grow their lead at the top of the table.
On Thursday, the Bundesliga released the next phase of the draw, with Bayern hosting Leipzig on the Friday before Christmas.
While neutrals may be hoping for a title race to go well into the spring, Bayern's form have them threatening to pull away before the two sides clash.
Bayern's patchy Champions League form - with two wins and two losses - have grabbed the headlines, especially with this year's final taking place in Munich, but Kompany's side have impressed domestically.
Bayern remain unbeaten and have dropped just four points in nine matches. In Bayern's last four games in Germany, they have scored 16 without conceding a goal.
The German giants, who went without a trophy last year for the first time since 2012, are primed for a return to the winner's circle.
"Finally, we're going back to Hamburg," Thomas Muller said on social media on Thursday.
"We're keen, we're up for it, we want to pick up where we left of.
"We've got one game to go before the international break so we can give it our all."
Bayern's last trip to face St. Pauli came in May 2011 and is one the hosts will not care to remember.
Mario Gomez hit a hat-trick and both Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery scored braces in an 8-1 demolition - St. Pauli's heaviest loss in the Bundesliga.
St. Pauli are clear underdogs on Saturday but have been solid so far this season despite losing coach Fabian Hurzeler, who took them back to the top division.
They sit 15th but have conceded just 11 goals. Only Bayern, Leipzig and Union Berlin have conceded fewer.
Against Leipzig in September, Pauli dug deep to keep the free-flowing Saxons at bay in a scoreless draw and will be hoping for more of the same.
"(St. Pauli) have played well and have had a few chances. We better be on our guard," Bayern's Joshua Kimmich said Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Leverkusen face last-placed Bochum away while Mainz host Dortmund, both on Saturday.
On Sunday, this season's surprise packets - third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt - play at the side who held the mantle last year, runners-up Stuttgart.
Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala scored a header in Wednesday's 1-0 Champions League win over Benfica, showcasing a new weapon in his artillery.
Known for his dribbling and powerful shots from outside the box, three of Musiala's eight goals this season have come from his head.
Harry Kane praised the 21-year-old after the Benfica match, saying: "He's getting in the right places, he's working hard ... I hope he keeps it up."
Musiala's coach Kompany echoed the sentiment. "He sees in training how Thomas Muller and Harry Kane act inside the box ... he's got the right examples," said the Belgian.
1: Bayern Munich are the only unbeaten team remaining in the Bundesliga.
16: Both Harry Kane (11 goals, five assists) and Omar Marmoush (10 goals, six assists) have 16 goal involvements this season.
0: Last-placed Bochum are the only side yet to win this season. Veteran manager Dieter Hecking took over on Monday with the unenviable task of keeping them up.
Friday
Saturday
Kompany played for city rivals SV Hamburg 2006-08 after coming through at Anderlecht and then left to become one of the top defenders of his generation at Manchester City. Now the Belgian is back in the Bundesliga as coach of the record champions.
"My time in Hamburg was very important for me and really beautiful," he told a news conference on Friday. "Munich is a great city but so was Hamburg."
Asked if he had ever enjoyed himself in the strip of bars on Hamburg's famous Reeperbahn, Kompany cryptically said: "Even the Beatles were on the Reeperbahn."
The British rock band cut their teeth in Hamburg before finding fame. Kompany is trying to do similar as a coach having been the surprise choice to fill the vacant hotseat in Munich.
It is so far, so good for the 38-year-old former Anderlecht and Burnley coach, with Bayern three points clear after nine games having surrendered the Bundesliga title for the first time since 2012 under Thomas Tuchel last term.
Bayern have scored 13 goals and conceded none in their last four games in all competitions and take on a St Pauli side fresh from their second win of the campaign at Hoffenheim last weekend.
St Pauli are big city rivals with Kompany's former side Hamburg.
"I have a lot of friends at Hamburg still and maybe for them it is important that we beat St Pauli. I know of course that the rivalry is huge," he said.
Bayern emerged from Wednesday's 1-0 win over Benfica in the Champions League largely unscathed.
"It was important that we didn't suffer any more injuries. I feel like the team is fresh both mentally and physically despite all the games," Kompany added.
