Bundesliga coaches overwhelmingly back FC Bayern

Ahead of the opening match of the new Bundesliga campaign on Friday between FC Bayern and Hertha BSC, almost all of the coaches in the top tier agree: following seven straight championships, the defending champions will be the top favourites in the upcoming season. In a poll conducted by the German Press Agency (dpa), 15 out of 18 coaches backed the German record champions, two see an open race between FCB and Borussia Dortmund, and just one went for BVB. "Of course, once again, we're the ones everyone's going to be hunting. That's quite obvious," said Bayern head coach Niko Kovac, who regards Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig as the Reds' toughest rivals in the fight for the title.