Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart renew rivalry in opening Bundesliga game of 2026/27
Champions Bayern Munich will open the 2026/27 Bundesliga season at home to VfB Stuttgart on Friday, 28 August, in a fixture that has once again evolved into one of German football’s most exciting in recent years.
Bayern earned the right to play the opening fixture of the new season as defending champions, having wrapped up the title for the second year running with a 4-2 win at home to none other than Stuttgart back in April.
Watch: Bayern crowned after win over Stuttgart
That was one of four competitive meetings in 2025/26 between the traditional southern giants, whose 114 Bundesliga encounters have amassed a total crowd of over 6,345,000 to make it the most attended fixture in the division’s history.
The two teams started and ended last season against each other. Things kicked off last August with the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup in Stuttgart, where Luis Díaz struck the winner on his Bayern debut to hand his side a 2-1 victory.
They then brought the curtain down on the campaign in the DFB Cup final in May, where Harry Kane struck a hat-trick in a 3-0 Bayern win to depose Stuttgart and make it a domestic double for Bayern.
Watch: Bayern beat Stuttgart to lift 2025 Supercup
“Bayern are the gold standard,” Sebastian Hoeneß had said after the season’s second encounter in December, when the Bavarians hit five in Stuttgart, including another Kane hat-trick. The Englishman has 14 goals in only eight games against VfB, making them his favourite opponent in Germany.
Bayern very much have the edge in this fixture down the years. Their 88 wins from 132 competitive meetings with Stuttgart since the Bundesliga’s creation in 1963 is the most by any team over an opponent in the league’s history. VfB’s sole victory in this fixture since 2018/19 was at the end of 2023/24, when they leapfrogged the Munich men into second place behind Bayer Leverkusen.
Watch: Highlights of a rare Stuttgart win over Bayern
The Bavarians also have a fearsome record on opening night, winning 14 out of 17 official openers (three draws) and remaining unbeaten on Matchday 1 since 2011 (W12, D2) – the longest such run in Bundesliga history. Last season they kicked off with a devastating 6-0 victory over RB Leipzig.
Setting the tone is what this year’s opener against Stuttgart will be about. VfB have emerged as one of German football’s most exciting teams to watch under Hoeneß. They were second behind Bayern for goals scored in the Bundesliga last season, with only Kane outscoring Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav.
Watch: Undav's 19 Bundesliga strikes in 2025/26
“It’s a good game for the fans,” said Vincent Kompany ahead of the previous league encounter. He was right then. And it’s a statement that surely still rings true ahead of this tantalising 2026/27 opener.
