Dortmund vs Hamburger SV
Friday 5th August - 19:30
Reigning Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund begin the new German campaign in style with a mouth-watering home tie with Hamburg, who finished last season in 8th.
This fixture has seen the home side, be it Dortmund or Hamburg, win 4 of their last 6, with the away side winning just once, which doesn't bode well for HSV. Ties at Signal Iduna Park generally see less goals, with just 11 scored in the previous 6 matches in this fixture, with Dortmund conceding just 4, while the last 6 games between the two at Hamburg have produced 20 goals.
Both sides have lost key players from last season this summer, none more so than Nuri Sahin who left for Real Madrid following a fantastic season at the heart of Dortmund's midfield. Hamburg have seen former senior players Mathijsen, Ze Roberto, van Nistelrooy and Trochowski leave the club in pre-season.
New former Chelsea trio of Gokhan Tore, Michael Mancienne and Jeffrey Bruma could all make debuts for the away side, while the hosts could hand first league starts to new signing Ilkay Gundogan and Chris Lowe at left-back.
The champions will be without top striker Lucas Barrios through injury, while Hamburg could be without their own front man Marcus Berg, who netted against Dortmund on his debut for the club after just 3 minutes from coming off the bench.
Stuttgart vs Schalke 04
Saturday 6th August - 14:30
Having finished last season in a lowly 12th and 14th respectively, Stuttgart and Schalke will be hoping to kick-start their new campaigns with a win to turn around their league fortunes from the previous campaign.
The home side will be the more confident of the two entering this fixture having won 4 of their last 6 league games in the fixture at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, losing just once. Stuttgart's defensive record in this encounter is exceptional, keeping 4 clean sheets in the aforementioned victories, including one last season in their 1-0 victory earlier in the year.
Schalke's disciplinary record when travelling to Stuttgart is a sore point for the away side. Last season's Champions League semi-finalists have picked up 19 yellows and 2 reds in the last 6 games in this fixture, including defender Howedes' early dismissal in the 1-0 defeat from last term.
Stuttgart may well hand a debut to new signing from Copenhagen and Danish international, William Kvist, who captained his former club from centre-midfield. The Dane is likely to replace midfielder Christian Trasch who left the club for Wolfsburg last month. Schalke have signed 25-year-old forward Ciprian Marica after the Romanian saw his contract cancelled with this weekend's opponents, Stuttgart.
The hosts are without defenders Matthieu Delpierre and Georg Niedermeier through injury, meaning new signing Francisco Rodriguez from PSV could start. Schalke could be without key winger Jefferson Farfan who is struggling for fitness ahead of the season opener.
Marseille vs Sochaux
Saturday 6th August - 20:00
The standout opening game of the new Ligue 1 season is arguably the head-to-head between last year's runners-up Marseille and Europa League qualifiers Sochaux, who finished 5th.
Similarly to the Dortmund-Hamburg fixture this tie has seen the respective home side win 4 of the last 6 outings, with the away side winning the other 2, meaning a draw is unlikely. Marseille will go into the game high in confidence having won the last 3 at Stade Velodrome vs Sochaux, scoring 7 times.
The home side have had an exciting pre-season, coming from behind to win the French Champions Trophy in spectacular fashion, 5-4 over last season's league champions Lille thanks to an Andre Ayew hat-trick. The Ghanaian's younger brother Jordan has also been in the goals recently having notched in an outstanding 8-2 victory in a friendly over a Manchester United XI.
Sochaux have seen last season's coach Francis Gillot leave with Mehmed Bazdarevic his replacement. After their successful previous campaign, key striker Brown Ideye has also departed the club this summer, leaving playmaker Marvin Martin, who set up more goals than any other player in Europe last season with 18 assists, with significantly less to aim at.
Marseille could hand debuts to both Nicolas Nkoulou and Alou Diarra, while attacking stars Matthieu Valbuena and Ayew should pass late fitness tests.
PSG vs Lorient
Saturday 6th August - 20:00
Undoubtedly the team to watch in this year's Ligue 1 will be free-spending PSG, hoping to build on their 4th placed finish last term. They face Lorient first up who placed 11th last time around.
The away side has a decent record in this fixture, which suggests it may not be plain sailing for PSG from the outset. The travelling side, in this case Lorient, have won 3 of the last 6 matches at their opponent's respective homes, though both games in this fixture last season ended in draws.
Outings at the Parc de Princes between the two sides tend to bring plenty of goals, despite just 2 being netted between the two sides in both of last season's games. In the last 6 games between them in the French capital, 21 goals have been scored.
Predicting PSG's potential line-up is now a tough task following the influx of signings at the club, though one transfer towers above the rest. With new Qatari owners in place, PSG smashed the French league's transfer record by splashing out around €43m on young Argentine Javier Pastore. The former Palermo man was a hot property this summer, making the French side's capture all the more impressive.
Alongside Pastore, PSG have signed the likes of Blaise Matuidi and Momo Sissoko to anchor their midfield, while Jeremy Menez was brought in from Roma to replace Ludovic Giuly. The most intriguing contest will see former Lorient striker, and last season's top scorer for the outfit by some margin, come up against his old club immediately having joined PSG for €11m earlier in the summer.
Bayern Munich vs Borussia M.Gladbach
Sunday 7th August - 16:30
Having finished 3rd last season in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich will be hoping to restore their dominance in German football this time around, facing a Galdbach side who just avoided relegation last season.
The home side have a fantastic record in this fixture at the Allianz Arena and indeed overall, going unbeaten in their last 6 games home and away, as well as their last six solely on home turf. The hosts have also drawn just once of the previous 6 encounters between the two at the Allianz, conceding just 4 goals in the process.
Munich are likely to hand debuts to defensive trio Jerome Boateng, who returned to Germany after an unfruitful spell with Manchester city, right-back Rafinha and German international keeper Manuel Neuer, who completed his long-expected move from Schalke this summer.
After picking up form at the end of last season, Gladbach have made few changes to their squad or system, with no real injury concerns of note ahead of the opener. The hosts could be without French winger Franck Ribery, who is likely to start on the bench, though Arjen Robben should be back from injury on the right.
Bordeaux vs St.Etienne
Sunday 7th August - 20:00
The first Sunday night game of the new Ligue 1 season sees Bordeaux, under new manager Gillot, host Saint Etienne after the sides finished 7th and 10th respectively last term.
The home side will be the strong favourites in this one, with their record at the Stade Chaban Delmas in this fixture representing a significant one. Bordeaux have lost just 1 of their last 6 versus St.Etienne at home, winning 4 times and conceding just 3 goals, and with the visitors lack of a real goalscorer, this game shouldn't prove too different.
Bordeaux brought in new coach Francis Gillot following a fantastic season in helping Sochaux to 5th last term. The manager will be hoping the side can continue their pre-season form having gone unbeaten in their 5 outings, with strike duo Anthony Modeste and Cheick Diabate netting 7 times.
Midfielder Loic Perrin misses the game through suspension for St.Etienne though the away side have been boosted by the signings of midfielder's Jeremy Clement and Steed Malbranque, although the latter's inclusion is unlikely having only recently sealed his switch from Sunderland.
