Niko Kovac Bayern Munich 2019

Bayern to begin Bundesliga defence at home to Hertha Berlin

Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich will begin the defence of their title with a home game against Hertha Berlin on August 16 as they go in search of a record eighth consecutive crown.

The German top-flight fixtures were released on Friday morning and gave Niko Kovac’s team a home game to kick off the campaign, as is traditional in the Bundesliga for the defending champions.

Bayern celebrated their seventh title win in a row in May after pipping rivals Borussia Dortmund to top spot, despite having trailed for much of the season, and are preparing to begin life without Frank Ribery and Arjen Robben who have both left the club.

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On-loan Real Madrid forward James Rodriguez has also departed to return to his parent club, whilst Mats Hummels has rejoined Dortmund.

Bayern will open against last season’s mid-table finishers Hertha, who go into the season under the leadership of new boss Ante Covic, who is set to take over from Pal Dardai on July 1.

Last season’s runners-up Dortmund will open up against Augsburg at home as they look to finally wrest the title away from Bayern and shatter the dominance enjoyed by their great rivals.

Newly promoted Union Berlin, who will play in the Bundesliga for the very first time this season, begin with a home game against Champions League-bound RB Leipzig on what will be an historic day for the German capital.

And the city will have a rare top-flight derby to look forward to, with the first Union v Hertha game set to take place on the weekend of November 1-3.

The first-ever Bundesliga Berlin derby will recall the days when Germany was divided between east and west, with new boys Union having played in the former German Democratic Republic whilst Hertha represented West Germany.

Minnows Paderborn, who have been on a remarkable journey from the Bundesliga to the third tier and back since 2015, open up with an away match against Bayer Leverkusen.

The first Klassiker of the season is set for the weekend of November 8-10 as Bayern host Dortmund at the Allianz Arena, with the return game taking place in early April just six games from the end of the campaign.


Bundesliga 2019-20 Opening Weekend Fixtures


DateTime (BST)Match
16/08/201919:30Bayern Munich vs Hertha Berlin
17/08/2019 or 18/08/2019TBDBorussia Dortmund vs Augsburg
17/08/2019 or 18/08/2019TBDBayer Leverkusen vs Paderborn
17/08/2019 or 18/08/2019TBDBorussia Monchengladbach vs Schalke
17/08/2019 or 18/08/2019TBDWolfsburg vs Koln
17/08/2019 or 18/08/2019TBDEintracht Frankfurt vs Hoffenheim
17/08/2019 or 18/08/2019TBDWerder Bremen vs Fortuna Dusseldorf
17/08/2019 or 18/08/2019TBDFreiburg vs Mainz
17/08/2019 or 18/08/2019TBDUnion Berlin vs RB Leipzig
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