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Bundesliga unveil plans for restarting the season with fixture list update
The Bundesliga has announced plans for the season to resume on May 16.
Bundesliga: Pundits discuss plans to restart German league
The Bundesliga fixture list will continue from where it left off as German top division football is set to return next week after a two-month break caused by the coronavirus.
There will be some major differences implemented from before the lockdown as all games must be played without fans.
Every club has undergone vigorous COVID-19 testing as 1,695 samples have been sent to the laboratories. Only two came back positive and they were reported to local health authorities.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave the Bundesliga permission to return to action on May 15.
But league officials did not want to restart the campaign on a Friday so they will wait until the following day.
Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke, which pits second place against sixth, is the pick of the matches on the opening day.
League leaders Bayern Munich, who have a four-point gap at the top, must wait until Sunday to take on Union Berlin.
Christian Seifert, chief executive of the German Football League, has expressed his pride at becoming the first major European football league to resume following the coronavirus outbreak.
He said: "The interest [globally] is big. I see reports from across the world that we are the first major league to return.
"This can only happen because we have the privilege to live in one of the most modern health systems in the world.
"The matches will feel different. After the first matchday, we will all know why we prefer games with fans.
"But that is the framework we have to operate in and I expect the best possible sport within this framework."
The majority of Bundesliga clubs have nine matches remaining and they will play one every weekend until the campaign is wrapped up on June 28.
Bundesliga opening weekend fixture
Saturday
Augsburg v Wolfsburg
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin
RB Leipzig v Freiburg
Sunday
Cologne v Mainz
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich
Monday
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen