Champions Bayern Munich will get the 2020-21 Bundesliga campaign underway on Friday evening with a clash against Schalke 04 at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern lifted their 30th top-flight title last season and will be looking to continue their dominance of German football this term, while Schalke will be determined to improve on a disappointing 2019-20.
Match preview
Bayern again proved to be far too strong for the rest of the competition last season, claiming 82 points from their 34 Bundesliga matches to finish at the summit, 13 points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund.
The Munich giants have now won the Bundesliga in each of the last eight seasons, but the 2019-20 campaign proved to be even more special as they also won the German Cup and Champions League to make it a famous treble.
A 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain on August 23 saw them lift the European Cup, capping off a brilliant campaign for the club, who have won their last 13 Bundesliga matches and are unbeaten in the league since a 2-1 defeat at Borussia Monchengladbach at the start of December.
The quick turnaround is far from ideal, but Bayern will be determined to start their new league season with a victory before switching their attention to the UEFA Super Cup, which sees them take on Europa League winners Sevilla on September 24.
Hansi Flick's team will be able to call upon Leroy Sane this season, but Ivan Perisic and Philippe Coutinho have both returned to Inter Milan and Barcelona respectively, while there are question marks over the futures of both David Alaba and Thiago Alcantara with the transfer window still open.
As for Schalke, there is no getting away from the fact that it was a disappointing 2019-20 campaign for the club as they finished down in 12th spot in the table.
The Royal Blues actually finished second in 2017-18 but have struggled over the last couple of years, going from a Champions League club to a side struggling to make the top half of the table.
A new season brings new opportunities, though, and it would certainly be a huge step in the right direction if they could pick up all three points against the champions on Friday night.
It has been a relatively quiet transfer window for David Wagner's side, but they have lost key midfielder Weston McKennie to Juventus, while Alexander Nubel and Daniel Caligiuri have also moved on.
Bayern Munich Bundesliga form (end of 2019-20): WWWWWW
Schalke 04 Bundesliga form (end of 2019-20): LDDLLL
Team News
Sane is in line to make his Bayern debut against his former club on Friday night, and the 24-year-old will be determined to impress as he prepares to pull on the famous jersey for the first time.
Kingsley Coman is a doubt, having been forced to quarantine at home after a coronavirus scare, meaning that Sane should join Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry in attack.
Alaba is also expected to play despite the speculation surrounding his future, but Thiago is likely to drop out with Joshua Kimmich being moved from right-back into midfield, allowing fit-again Benjamin Pavard to start.
New signing Tanguy Kouassi will miss out for the champions due to a thigh problem.
Schalke, meanwhile, will be without Salif Sane due to a knee injury, but the visitors otherwise have a fully-fit squad heading into the clash in Munich.
Matija Nastasic should shake off a knock to start on Friday, while there could be a debut in the final third for Vedad Ibisevic, who has joined on a free transfer from Hertha Berlin.
Mark Uth and Amine Harit should also feature for Schalke in forward positions, while Sebastian Rudy, who spent last season on loan with Hoffenheim, is set to face his former club.
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Pavard, Sule, Alaba, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Gnabry, Muller, Sane; Lewandowski
Schalke 04 possible starting lineup:
Fahrmann; Rudy, Kabak, Nastasic, Oczipka; Serdar, Stambouli, Bentaleb; Harit, Uth, Ibisevic
We say: Bayern Munich 3-0 Schalke 04
Schalke have not won a Bundesliga game since January and really struggled after the lockdown period. Bayern, on the other hand, have proved very, very difficult to stop. As a result, is tough to predict anything other than a comfortable home victory for the treble winners.
