Key fixtures of the 2022/23 Bundesliga season
Der Klassiker, the Revierderby, the Rhine and Berlin derbies and a splash of title-hungry RB Leipzig: there are some HUGE Bundesliga fixtures on the cards in 2022/23. bundesliga.com explains when, where and why...
Borussia Dortmund - Bayern Munich: Matchday 9, 7-9 October
Bayern Munich - Borussia Dortmund: Matchday 26, 31 March-2 April (After int. break)
It's one of world football's most compelling match-ups and this season's Der Klassiker dates will be among the first jotted down in every Bundesliga fan's phone calendar. Last term's tussles brought incredible drama and ultimately saw Julian Nagelsmann's Bayern lift their 10th successive Bundesliga title with a 3-1 victory against their rivals in black and yellow at the Allianz Arena. With new coach Edin Terzic back at the BVB helm, Dortmund will be keen to arrest a run of seven straight losses against the reigning Bundesliga champions, who last lost a game in this mammoth fixture back in 2018.
Watch: Do you know Der Klassiker?
Borussia Dortmund - Schalke: Matchday 7, 16-18 September
Schalke - Borussia Dortmund: Matchday 24, 10-12 March
The return of the Revierderby adds one more pinch of excitement to the Bundesliga's 2022/23 recipe and with Schalke racing back to the top-flight at the first time of asking, you just know a meeting with their North Rhine-Westphalia rivals Dortmund has the Royal Blues buzzing. We won't have long to wait for the first of the teams' meetings in the new campaign, with BVB set to host the Bundesliga 2 champions on Matchday 7, and the return at the Veltins-Arena set for March. The games will be the 99th and 100th Revierderby meetings in the Bundesliga and it's Die Schwarzgelben who go into them with a slightly better head-to-head record, boasting 36 wins to Schalke's 32.
Watch: Schalke hit back from 4-0 down to hold Dortmund in the mother of all derbies in 2017/18
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Borussia Mönchengladbach - Cologne: Matchday 9, 7-9 October
Cologne - Borussia Mönchengladbach: Matchday 26, 31 March - 2 April
As derbies go, few are more colourful that the Rhine derby, which burst into life way back in 1962 and continues to have fans of both sides clamouring for tickets to see this special Bundesliga spectacular. Just over 40 miles separates these two teams along the river Rhine, and it is the Billy Goats who will make the journey first in the new season. Indeed, Cologne's tails will be up come Matchday 9, with Steffen Baumgart's team having won their last three Rhine derbies, taking both by a 7-2 aggregate score last term. However, Gladbach are starting a new era under their recently appointed coach Daniel Farke and the Foals would love nothing more than to add to the 51 defeats they have inflicted on the Billy Goats in this fixture to date.
Union Berlin - Hertha Berlin: Matchday 1, 6-8 August
Hertha Berlin - Union Berlin: Matchday 18, 27-29 January
Of the many enticing opening day games, the Berlin Derby is certainly up there for excitement and passion. The Stadion an der Alten Försterei will be packed to the rafters as Union welcome their cross-city opponents, who played second fiddle to Urs Fischer's men last term. Not only did Union do the double against an ailing Hertha in the Bundesliga in 2021/22, they also knocked the Old Lady out of the DFB Cup at the Round of 16 stage. Buoyed by their top-flight survival and under recently appointed coach Sandro Schwarz, Hertha will do their best to halt a four-game winless run in the derby on Matchday 1 against a Union side that will still be bouncing after a superb fifth-placed finish last season.
Watch: The Berlin derby explained
RB Leipzig - Bayern Munich: Matchday 16, 20-22 January
Bayern Munich - RB Leipzig: Matchday 33, 19-21 May
It may be a rivalry that cannot boast anywhere near the longevity of others, but Bayern vs. Leipzig has produced enough drama, goals and iconic moments over recent years to pack any fascinating highlights reel. Added to the fact that both teams have been involved in an increasing number of top-of-the-table clashes of late, you have former study buddies and in-game frenemies Domenico Tedesco and Nagelsmann as two of the youngest tacticians in the division coaching each side. Some of the scorelines when Bayern and Leipzig have met have have been outrageous - 4-5 and 3-3 come to mind - while even their last meeting ended up as a belter, Bayern triumphing 3-2 at the Allianz in 2021/22. The last time the champions failed to score in the top flight was in a 0-0 draw against Leipzig in February 2020. Could next season's Matchday 33 encounter even be a title decider? It's an intriguing prospect.
Watch: Bayern shaded a five-goal thriller with Leipzig last season
RB Leipzig - Borussia Dortmund: Matchday 6, 9-11 September
Borussia Dortmund - RB Leipzig: Matchday 23, 3-5 March (199th match of the campaign)
Indeed, such has been Leipzig's astounding rise since first appearing in the Bundesliga in 2016/17, that the Saxony-based side have also built a solid rivalry with fellow serial title challengers Dortmund in that time. An astounding 38 goals have been scored between these teams when they’ve met in the Bundesliga over the past five campaigns, and while Leipzig have won just three of those 10 fixtures, two of them came last season. Terzic and Co. will have an early shot at revenge when they visit the Red Bull Arena on Matchday 6 in 2022/23.
Watch: Leipzig humbled Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park in 2021/22
>> Click here for the 2022/23 Bundesliga fixture list in full!
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