New season, old rivalry – but passion absolutely unchanged. For fans, who have seen a rivalry once threatening to give Spain’s El Clasico a run for its money become largely one-sided, it will be more than just a curtain-raiser.

Borussia Dortmund host Bayern Munich at the Signal Iduna Park on August 14 for the first competitive fixture of the new season, and Thomas Tuchel’s new-look side has inspired confidence that it could indeed spark a title race and end the Bavarian monopoly.

Given Bayern Munich’s dominance in the Bundesliga, Dortmund will undoubtedly begin as the underdogs. Yet, home advantage could play a key role, and Dortmund’s active summer in the transfer market could be a sign of things to come.

Such has been Bayern’s impact in the league, that authorities have had to issue warnings to opposition clubs not to field weakened teams against the Bavarian giants – a strategy to keep players fresh for other games that the teams have a realistic chance of winning.

Head-to-Head

Since Dortmund’s back-to-back Bundesliga wins in 2010-11 and 2011-12, Bayern have eased past their rivals for four consecutive title wins from 2012-13 to 2015-16.

During this period, Bayern have won eight times to Dortmund’s three, including the famous Champions League win in 2013, with the remaining five having ended in a draw.

However, the last two encounters between these two sides have ended as goalless draws, therefore history would count for nothing when the two sides take to the field on Sunday night.

Furthermore, the Black-and-Yellow will be buoyed by the fact that they have a superior record in the Supercup, having won four of the five encounters against their rivals (including the unofficial cup in 2008).

With Portuguese superkid Renato Sanches and new manager Carlo Ancelotti in the fold, Bayern are unlikely to miss former manager Pep Guardiola, who departed for Manchester City in the summer.

Old boys return

But what is likely to charge up the encounter is the transfer of former Dortmund skipper Mats Hummels to Bayern. Hummels, a former Bayern youth product, joined the Westphalens in 2008 and spent eight years before returning home. He’ll face his former club for the first time since returning and is likely to get a hostile reception.

Another player who could face the ire of Dortmund fans is prodigal son Mario Gotze, who left for the Bavarians in 2013, but returned to Dortmund this summer after failing to establish himself in the Bayern line-up.

But the anger notwithstanding, Dortmund fans are excited about the prospect of seeing Andre Schurrle, Marc Bartra and Raphaël Guerreiro in Dortmund colours for the first time, after losing Ilkay Gundogan and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to the Manchester clubs, although new captain Marco Reus is likely to miss out due to injury.

And with Robert Lewandowski and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang having pledged their immediate future to Bayern and Dortmund respectively, the strikeforce of both teams remains lethal.

While German forward Thomas Muller has rubbished talk that Bayern do not take the Supercup seriously and said the team is gunning to begin the season on a victorious note, the Signal Iduna Park will expect a full house on Sunday. The world will hope for a blockbuster Der Klassiker, and both teams will look to draw first blood in the new season.

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