No Friday night game, Dortmund against rivals Schalke one of the initial matches
Berlin, Thursday
Football is set to return on May 16 after the Bundesliga decided against holding a game next Friday night – but one of the first games played will be the derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke.
The German government gave the green light to the Bundesliga to return in the second half of May on Wednesday and the German FA announced on Thursday that they will resume next weekend.
They will have the same slate of games as what would have been the 26th matchday of the Bundesliga season – barring the intended Friday night match – with all games to take place behind closed doors.
Fortuna Dusseldorf and Paderborn were set to meet up next Friday night - but they have moved that clash to Saturday.
The first matches in one of Europe’s major leagues after the coronavirus lockdown will take place on Saturday, May 16, with games available to watch in the UK on BT Sport.
A raft of fixtures will take place at 2.30pm BST in Germany – including the standout match between Dortmund and Schalke. The Revierderby is one of Germany’s fiercest rivalries.
Dortmund, in second, are still challenging for the title while Schalke are battling for a place in the Europa League.
The encounter between Dusseldorf and Paderborn, now down for 2.30 on Saturday, is a huge match for both sides as they look to battle against relegation from the Bundesliga.
Dusseldorf are in 16th place, on course for the relegation play-off at the end of the campaign but just four points from safety.
Paderborn, meanwhile, are rooted to the bottom of the league and are a huge 10 points behind Mainz in 15th.
Elsewhere, RB Leipzig will host Freiburg while Hoffenheim take on Hertha Berlin.
Augsburg will be visited by Wolfsburg. At 5.30pm, Eintracht Frankfurt take on Gladbach.
Sunday will see Cologne face Mainz, while Bayern Munich’s first game back will be against Union Berlin at 5pm. On Monday night, Werder Bremen take on Bayer Leverkusen at 7.30pm.
