Bundesliga fixtures: Bayern begin title defence against Werder Bremen

Carlo Ancelotti’s first Bundesliga match in charge of Bayern Munich will see the defending champions take on Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena.

The German top-flight announced its full schedule for the 2016-17 campaign on Wednesday, with Bayern hosting Bremen to kick off the campaign in a Friday fixture on August 26.

Ancelotti has replaced Pep Guardiola following the former head coach’s move to Manchester City and takes over a team who won the league by 10 points last season.

Last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund are at home to Mainz, while the pick of the opening fixtures sees Borussia Monchengladbach host Bayer Leverkusen as the teams who finished fourth and third respectively last season go head-to-head.

What an opening game #FCBSVW is! @FCBayernEN will face @werderbremen_en
Can #SVW stop #FCB? #BundesligaSchedule pic.twitter.com/NYgsB6t94A

— Bundesliga (@Bundesliga_EN) June 29, 2016

Promoted club Freiburg start at Hertha Berlin, while RB Leipzig’s first Bundesliga match having risen through the leagues will see them travel to Hoffenheim.

Bayern’s first match against rivals Dortmund will take place at Signal Iduna Park on matchday 11 between November 18 and 20.

The return match will take place on matchday 28 at the Allianz Arena between April 7 and 9, with the late-season clash potentially a crucial one in the title race.

Bayern have won 26 league titles – a record – with last season’s success making them the first team to win four in a row.

Bundesliga 2016-17 opening day fixtures:

Bayern Munich v Werder Bremen
Borussia Dortmund v Mainz
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen
Hertha Berlin v Freiburg
Cologne v Darmstadt
Hamburg v Ingolstadt
Augsburg v Wolfsburg
Hoffenheim v RB Leipzig
Eintracht Frankfurt v Schalke