With the Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1, and La Liga already underway, the fifth member of Europe's "Big 5" will finally kick off this Friday. As tradition dictates, it will be the reigning champions of Germany to get proceedings going, and as it has been Bayern for the past few seasons dating back to 2012, it will be die Roten to feature in the curtain-raiser this Friday as they host Hoffenheim at the Allianz Arena.
Elsewhere, Borussia Dortmund will begin life under new manager Lucien Favre as die Schwarzgelben will again hope to knock Bayern off their title perch. It will obviously be much easier said than done as die Roten have turned the title race into a one-horse affair as of late, but certainly, Dortmund will try. Another team hoping to end Bayern's unchallenged reign as champions of Germany will be Leipzig, who since bursting onto the scene recently have impressed, despite the fact that the club was only founded in 2009 and only made its top flight debut in the 2016/2017 season.
Dortmund have made some interesting signings this summer, including bringing in Achraf Hakimi, Thomas Delaney, and Axel Witsel in a bid to improve their fortunes both domestically and in Europe. Die Schwarzgelben come into this game having narrowly survived a late scare to progress in the DFB-Pokal thanks to a late goal from Marco Reus, during which new signing Witsel also got himself on the score-sheet.
It was hardly the best showing from his side, but Favre will take the win and naturally will be hoping to see an improved performance as his side continues to gel as the season progresses. They'll also be keen to avoid an early slip-up here, as Leipzig notably picked up a historic win at Dortmund's expense two yeas ago.
Match Facts & Stats
- Leipzig's first-ever Bundesliga win came against Dortmund in 2016, thanks to a winner from former midfield talisman Naby Keita (who's now at Liverpool)
- Marco Reus is unbeaten in two senior career appearances against Leipzig (W1, D1) - he's now Dortmund's new skipper for the current season
- Ralf Rangnick's record in Bundesliga matches against Dortmund is W3, D4, L7
- By contrast, this will be the first match against Leipzig for Lucien Favre
Where to watch Dortmund vs Leipzig in your home country
Here's how to catch the game in your home country. Will Dortmund avoid an opening day loss to Leipzig this weekend?
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Bundesliga Matchday 1 Standings
Here are the 18 teams who will be competing in German football's top flight this season. How will the table look at the end of matchday one on Sunday?
| Pos. | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | P | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayer Leverkusen | 30 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 75 | 20 | +55 | 80 | DWWWW | |
| 2 | Bayern München | 30 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 87 | 37 | +50 | 66 | WWLLW | |
| 3 | Stuttgart | 30 | 20 | 3 | 7 | 68 | 36 | +32 | 63 | LWWDW | |
| 4 | RB Leipzig | 30 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 69 | 34 | +35 | 59 | WWWDW | |
| 5 | Borussia Dortmund | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 58 | 35 | +23 | 57 | DWLWW | |
| 6 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 46 | 40 | +6 | 45 | WLDDL | |
| 7 | Freiburg | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 42 | 53 | -11 | 40 | DWLWL | |
| 8 | Augsburg | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 48 | 49 | -1 | 39 | LWLDW | |
| 9 | Hoffenheim | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 53 | 60 | -7 | 39 | WLWLL | |
| 10 | Heidenheim | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 43 | 52 | -9 | 34 | LDWDD | |
| 11 | Werder Bremen | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 38 | 50 | -12 | 34 | WLDLL | |
| 12 | Borussia M'gladbach | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 53 | 60 | -7 | 31 | LLWLD | |
| 13 | Wolfsburg | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 35 | 50 | -15 | 31 | WLLWL | |
| 14 | Union Berlin | 30 | 8 | 5 | 17 | 26 | 50 | -24 | 29 | LLLDW | |
| 15 | Mainz 05 | 30 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 31 | 48 | -17 | 27 | DWWDW | |
| 16 | Bochum | 30 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 34 | 60 | -26 | 27 | LDLDL | |
| 17 | Köln | 30 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 23 | 53 | -30 | 22 | LLWDL | |
| 18 | Darmstadt 98 | 30 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 30 | 72 | -42 | 17 | WLLDL |
Bundesliga Matchday 1 Listings
Here are the rest of the listings for matchday one of the 2018/2019 Bundesliga season:
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International Coverage:
Austria: Sky Sport Bundesliga 1, Sky Go Deutschland, Sky Sport Bundesliga 5
Canada: Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet Now
Germany: Sky Sport Bundesliga 1, Sky Go Deutschland, Sky Sport Bundesliga 5
Switzerland:
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International Coverage:
Austria: Sky Sport Bundesliga 1, Sky Go Deutschland, Sky Sport Bundesliga 4
Canada: Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet Now
Germany: Sky Sport Bundesliga 1, Sky Go Deutschland, Sky Sport Bundesliga 4
Switzerland:
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Borussia M'gladbach 2 - 0 Bayer Leverkusen
August 25, 2018 12:30pmStadion im BORUSSIA-PARK (Mönchengladbach)This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
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