Bayern Munich will start the 2016-17 Bundesliga season against Werder Bremen

The Bundesliga schedule for the 2016-17 season has been released, revealing that Bayern Munich will be starting their title defense on Friday, August 26th at 2:30 EST against Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena.

The game will start what will surely be an exciting campaign, given that we not only have a new manager, but the closest contender, Borussia Dortmund, are going into year two of Thomas Tuchel with a young, exciting squad looking to knock Bayern off of the throne. The two clubs will meet for the first time on Match Day 11 at the Signal Iduna Park, a game that could decide very early on who will be in the drivers seat for a big stretch of the season.

The first five games of Bayerns season look like so:

-Home vs Werder Bremen
-Away vs Schalke
-Home vs Ingolstadt
-Home vs Hertha Berlin
-Away vs Hamburg

These first five games - though not against the toughest opponents - should give us a good idea how the rest of the season will go, not only in terms of results, but style of play as well. If they come out of the gates slow (which wouldn’t a huge surprise after an international tournament), it could pave the way for Dortmund - or another club - to make a run for the title. If they come out strong post-tournament, like they did under Pep Guardiola, and Dortmund stumble just a bit, Bayern could be on their way to their 5th consecutive title.

Other games of note on the schedule are Leverkusen at home on Match Day 12, the always tough Mainz away on Match Day 13, and the newly promoted, eager to prove itself RB Leipzig at home on Match Day 16.

Only 54 days until opening night, guys. Get excited!

The full schedule can be found here.