:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/65161918/1163952996.0.jpg)
When you qualify for the UEFA Champions League, the biggest concern for any club is naturally the quality of the teams in the group. However, the timing of the league fixtures you have surrounding those Champions League matches is just as important. For Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga schedule around their Champions League matches this season is about as good as they could’ve asked for this year.
Matchday 1 - Red Star Belgrade
Saturday, September 14 - RB Leipzig - Away
Wednesday, September 18 - Red Star Belgrade - Home
Saturday, September 21 - FC Koln - Home
The opening match of the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League puts Bayern at home in the Allianz Arena against Red Star Belgrade. There is some peril in this one: the Bavarians will first travel to RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga. If Bayern were then getting in a plane and flying down to Serbia, there would be legitimate concern. Since this match is in Munich, though, the schedule is of far less concern than there would be otherwise. The bulk of Bayern’s focus here will be on the away trip in the former East Germany.
Matchday 2 - Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday, September 28 - Paderborn - Away
Tuesday, October 1 - Tottenham Hotspur - Away
Saturday, October 5 - Hoffenheim - Home
It’s hard to imagine a better schedule for Bayern before their big trip to London for their Champions League match with Tottenham. Paderborn will be one of the Bundesliga’s heavy relegation favorites this year, so Niko Kovac will likely be able to rotate more freely in that match than in other league games. Then, post-Tottenham, Bayern will host a Julian Nagelsmann-less Hoffenheim at the Allianz Arena. It would be hard to choose a better schedule surrounding the Tottenham away game if you tried.
Matchday 3 - Olympiacos
Saturday, October 19 - Augsburg - Away
Tuesday, October 22 - Olympiacos - Away
Saturday, October 26 - Union Berlin - Home
Traveling to southern Europe for Champions League matches is never easy, even for the title favorites. Sure, the scoreline may not always reflect the difficulty of the game, but the players always know they’re in for a battle. Therefore, the fact that Bayern’s trip to Greece to face Olympiacos is sandwiched between matches against Augsburg and Union Berlin is a terrific bit of fortune for Bayern.
Matchday 4 - Olympiacos
Saturday, November 2 - Eintracht Frankfurt - Away
Wednesday, November 6 - Olympiacos - Home
Saturday, November 9 - Borussia Dortmund - Home
The return match against Olympiacos a couple of weeks later may also fit an ideal schedule for Bayern. Following the midweek match against the Greeks, Bayern will host Borussia Dortmund at the Allianz Arena for the first Der Klassiker of the season. Like the match against RB Leipzig in September, this is a huge match in determining who will win the Bundesliga this season. Getting Olympiacos at home rather than a stronger opponent before they host Dortmund on the weekend is a big boost for Bayern.
Matchday 5 - Red Star Belgrade
Saturday, November 23 - Fortuna Dusseldorf - Away
Tuesday, November 26 - Red Star Belgrade - Away
Saturday, November 30 - Bayer Leverkusen - Home
Like the earlier trip to Greece, traveling to Serbia for a big European night is not going to be easy. While the match following the return to Germany against Bayer Leverkusen has the chance for Bayern to see the “L” column in the table, facing Fortuna Dusseldorf prior to departing for southern Europe is a big boost for Bayern. Leverkusen still has enough talent to cause chaos for Bayern upon the return, however.
Matchday 6 - Tottenham Hotspur
Saturday, December 7 - Borussia Monchengladbach - Away
Wednesday, December 11 - Tottenham Hotspur - Home
Saturday, December 14 - Werder Bremen - Home
There’s the biggest, brightest banana peel: away to Borussia Mönchengladbach. That comes prior to the match at the Allianz Arena against Tottenham, in what is very likely to be the match that determines who finishes at the top of Group B. Both Gladbach and Werder Bremen, who Bayern will face following the Tottenham game, will potentially be pushing for that fourth and final Champions League spot until the 34th game of the Bundesliga season. You know both of those clubs are targeting this match as a possible place to steal points away from Bayern.