The official Bundesliga opening fixture will be staged for the 18th time on Friday evening, and the Allianz Arena will be the venue for the restart for the seventh time in a row. FC Bayern and Hertha Berlin have only met in one restart match so far, kicking off the 2000/01 campaign, Bayern winning 4-1 at Munich's Olympic Stadium. fcbayern.com has collected the most interesting facts and stats ahead of the first match of the 57th Bundesliga campaign.
FCB unbeaten in restart
FC Bayern will contest the official opening fixture as reigning champions for the 12th time, and the Bavarians boast an almost flawless record. FCB have won ten of the 11 matches, scoring at least two goals in each of them, with a total of 34 goals scored and eight conceded. The only stalemate dates back to 2008, when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Hamburger SV.
Champions undefeated
Taken altogether, the record is clearly stacked in favour of reigning champions in the official opening fixtures, staged since 2002. German champions have never lost the restart, winning 14 matches and drawing three times. The reigning champions have won all of the last ten matches. Besides, none of the 17 games ended without goals. The biggest win was registered by FC Bayern in the summer of 2016, when they downed Werder Bremen 6-0.
Hertha strong on Matchday 1
Hertha Berlin contest the official restart fixture for the second time after 2002, when they held Dortmund to a 2-2 draw. Since their return to the Bundesliga in 2013, Berlin boast a strong Matchday 1 record of five victories and one draw. The men from the capital have won all of their last four matches.
Lewandowski chasing record
Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski scored for the fourth time in a row on Matchday 1 when he found the net in the 3-1 victory over Hoffenheim last year, equalling the Bundesliga best-mark set by Stefan Kießling and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who also scored on Matchday 1 for four consecutive years. A goal against Hertha would make Lewandowski the sole record holder.
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