It was only fair for champions Borussia Dortmund to open the new Bundesliga campaign, with Werder Bremen hoping to spoil the party and kick-off their season with a bang.

Even if Borussia had been very convincing throughout the 2010/2011 season, not too many people believed they could defend the league title the following season.

However, the Millionaires not only beat Bayern to the Bundesliga title, but also defeated their arch rivals in the DFB Pokal final, proving they had become the dominant force in German football.

Jurgen Klopp will not be too worried by the departures of Shinji Kagawa and Lucas Barrios now that Marco Reus has joined the club, while Julian Schieber and Leonardo Bittencourt are expected to further increase competition for places.

Borussia recovered well from the Super Cup defeat to Bayern to beat minnows Oberneuland in the DFB Pokal and they are now just 1.33 (1/3) with Paddy Power to beat Werder at Signal-Iduna Park.

Jurgen Klopp is going to have almost fully fit squad to choose from given that Sven Bender is the only absentee, although Lukasz Piszczek is doubtful with a thigh problem.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Weidenfeller – Kirch, Hummels, Subotic, Schmelzer – Gundogan, Kehl – Blaszczykowski, Reus, Grosskreutz – Lewandowski.

Following yet another disappointing season that saw them finish the Bundesliga campaign in 9th place, Werder Bremen are looking to show some improvement in the new campaign.

The squad have undergone major changes in the summer, with senior players Tim Wiese, Marko Marin, Naldo, Marcus Rosenberg and Claudio Pizarro all leaving.

However, in came some very exciting prospects such as Kevin de Bruyne, Eljero Elia, Theodor Gebre Selassie and Nils Petersen, so die Grun-Weissen clearly have reason for optimism.

Werder will have something to prove at Signal-Iduna Park after they were eliminated from the DFB Pokal by minnows Preussen Munster, and BetVictor has them at 11.00 (10/1) to take all three points back to Bremen.

Eljero Elia should start after recovering from injury, but Aleksandar Stevanovic and Denni Avdic are not in contention.

Probable starting line-up (4-1-4-1): Mielitz – Gebre Selassie, Sokratis, Prodl, Ignjovski – Fritz – De Bruyne, Junuzovic, Hunt, Elia – Petersen.