New-look Dortmund face Mainz test
The title credentials of Thomas Tuchel's new-look Borussia Dortmund will be put to a stern test by his former club 1. FSV Mainz 05 on the opening day of the season this Saturday (kick-off 15:30CEST/13:30GMT).
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Dortmund have a new all-star cast for the 2016/17 season with plenty of new faces likely to be on show in their league opener against Mainz. Marc Bartra, Ousmane Dembele, Sebastian Rode, Raphael Guerreiro, Andre Schürrle and, last but not least, Mario Götze are all in the frame to get Dortmund's title challenge off on the right foot when the black-and-yellows host Mainz on Saturday.
Season preview: Borussia Dortmund
Season preview: 1. FSV Mainz 05
Having qualified for the UEFA Europa League last season, Mainz did not feel the need to make too many changes of their own, with Martin Schmidt trusting largely the squad which secured an impressive fifth-place finish last term. Christian Clemens is the main new face, and as a former FC Schalke 04 player he will feel this fixture as a personal derby.
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Match stats
- Götze scored 22 goals in his first spell with Dortmund – exactly the same amount as for Bayern.Schmidt's career path resembles that of Tuchel: both were promoted to Mainz head coach from the youth team.Clemens has lost seven out of eight previous meetings with Dortmund, the one win coming for Schalke in 2014.
The venue: Signal Iduna Park
Possible line-ups
Dortmund: to follow
Absentees:Subotic (rib injury), Durm (knee), Bandowski (foot)
Head coach: Thomas Tuchel
Mainz: to follow
Absentees: Curci (calf), Samperio (tendon)
Head coach: Martin Schmidt