Bundesliga: RB Leipzig get late Sunday billing for debut
June 29, 2016Bundesliga debutants RB Leipzig will be in the spotlight when they get their 2016/17 campaign under way in the late televised Sunday game at Hoffenheim on August 28.
The showcase of the opening weekend could be the fixture between Champions League qualifiers Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen at Borussia Park, which the Bundesliga announced would be the late Saturday kick-off on August 27.
It had already been revealed that champions Bayern Munich would begin their season at home to Werder Bremen as the only game on Friday 26 August, which will act as the official opener to he Bundesliga campaign.
Last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund host coach Thomas Tuchel’s former club Mainz on the Saturday when Darmstadt make the trip to Cologne, Hamburg play Ingolstadt at Volksparkstadion, Augsburg are at home to Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt take on FC Schalke in Frankfurt.
Newly-promoted Freiburg travel to Hertha Berlin in the early Sunday fixture.
Kick-off times for the first five matchdays were revealed, with the actual fixtures having come out in June.
New Bayern signing Mats Hummels will make his return to Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 11 (November 18-20), while the return fixture between last term`s top two will be on Matchday 28 while new Schalke coach Markus Weinzierl will face his old club Augsburg on Matchday 7 (October 14-16).
Bundesliga fixtures – Matchday 1
Friday August 26
- Bayern Munich v Werder Bremen (20.30 CET)
Saturday August 27
- Cologne vs. Darmstadt (15.30 CET)
- Borussia Dortmund vs. Mainz
- Hamburg vs. Ingolstadt
- Augsburg vs. Wolfsburg
- Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Schalke
- Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Bayer Leverkusen (18.30 CET)
Sunday August 28
- Hertha Berlin vs. Freiburg (15.30 CET)
- Hoffenheim vs. Leipzig (17.30 CET)