Borussia Dortmund will begin a new era on Saturday when Thomas Tuchel takes charge of the team for the first time in the Bundesliga against Borussia Monchengladbach.
Gladbach head into the game after securing third spot behind Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg, while Dortmund will be looking to prove that last season's disappointment will not be repeated.
Borussia Dortmund
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During the glory years of Jurgen Klopp's reign in charge of Dortmund, no-one would have predicted that the eccentric head coach would walk away from the club after guiding them to a disappointing seventh-place finish in the Bundesliga.
However, such was the shock of the team's early-season form, the club's fans must surely have been relieved to see Klopp steer them further up the table after they flirted with relegation in the first half of the campaign.
Although a recovery was always expected, the time spent in the bottom three last winter may have played a key role in convincing Klopp his time with the club was coming to an end, but he signed off with a crucial run of results which led them to Europa League qualification and a spot in the DFB-Pokal final.
Dortmund were unable to bid farewell with victory in the final as Wolfsburg lifted the trophy in Berlin, but the mood surrounding the club had been lifted prior to the arrival of Tuchel, who earned a reputation as one of Germany's best young coaches before walking away from Mainz 05 in 2014.
After a season away from the game, Tuchel returns under pressure to ensure that his new employers are competing for Champions League qualification, and the opening-day test against Gladbach may prove how far the squad have to go to become Bayern's closest challengers in the Bundesliga once again.
Many feared that Dortmund would lose the likes of Marco Reus, Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gundogan this summer, but with their key trio still at the club, the outlook is certainly positive and the signing of Gonzalo Castro has added more competition for places ahead of the new campaign.
A 6-0 aggregate victory over Wolfsberger AC in the Europa League and last week's DFB-Pokal win against Chemnitzer has ensured the Tuchel reign started well, but it will be their performances against the likes of Gladbach which will decide whether they can return to the top four this season.
Pre-season form: WWLWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWW
Borussia Monchengladbach
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After finishing eighth and fifth in successive seasons, many questioned whether Lucien Favre could return Gladbach to the Bundesliga elite, but his squad responded impressively to deliver some of the best performances of the campaign on the way to qualifying for the Champions League.
As Bayern stormed to a third successive title, it was the three sides below the champions that caught much of the attention and Gladbach's entertaining youngsters showed their resilience time and time again, despite being outscored by the other sides in the top four.
It was a season which saw a number of promising players emerge as stars, with Patrick Herrmann, Thorgan Hazard and Granit Xhaka all looking set to build on impressive campaigns as Gladbach aim to show that they can push on at home and abroad.
The challenge of Champions League football will certainly push Gladbach to the limits as they aim to become regulars in Europe's elite club competition, and Favre is fully aware that the likes of Dortmund and Schalke will be knocking on the door after disappointing seasons.
Max Kruse was a high-profile departure from the club this summer, but Gladbach have moved quickly to strengthen the squad by signing Lars Stindl, Josip Drmic and Andreas Christensen, who has joined on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea.
Pulling in Bayern could be a challenge too far for the Foals, but satisfaction for the supporters will be seeing their side progress even further in their development and it will be a statement of intent should the club prove that the likes of Dortmund still have some catching up to do this season.
Pre-season form: DDWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): W
Team News
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After making the lone striker role his own last season, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is set to take on the responsibility of leading the line once again on Saturday as he looks to build on his tally of 26 goals in all competitions.
The Gabon international's support is likely to arrive from Castro, Reus and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, which means that Shinji Kagawa could start the new campaign on the home bench.
Favre elected to use a number of his key players from the bench in last week's 4-1 triumph over St Pauli in the DFB-Pokal, but the Gladbach boss is expected to bring Hazard and Herrmann back into the starting lineup.
Stindl, who scored twice last weekend, should play alongside Xhaka in midfield, while Christensen is in line to start in the centre of defence.
Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Burki, Schmelzer, Hummels, Papastathopoulos, Piszczek, Gundogan, Bender, Mkhitaryan, Castro, Reus, Aubameyang
Gladbach possible starting lineup:
Sommer, Jantschke, Christensen, Brouwers, Wendt, Stindl, Xhaka, Hazard, Herrmann, Raffael, Drmic
Head To Head
Christoph Kramer's bizarre own goal from 30 yards handed Dortmund victory when Gladbach last visited Signal Iduna Park in November, but the Foals avenged the defeat in the reverse fixture with a 3-1 triumph in February.
Despite competing for the title before last season's issues, Dortmund have struggled against Gladbach recently and the visitors make the trip having won three of the previous four meetings between the two sides.
Raffael has scored in all three of the aforementioned victories for Gladbach, who have only managed to record one win on Dortmund's home turf in their last 14 visits in the Bundesliga.
We say: Dortmund 1-1 Gladbach
Dortmund look set to recover from a disappointing campaign under the guidance of Tuchel and his first league game in charge could be one of the toughest tests of the season for his side. On paper, these two teams look evenly matched all over the pitch and there could be very little to separate them on Saturday evening.
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