Bundesliga's May 16 return date: fixtures, live TV and streaming schedule for Matchday 26 worldwide

Topics: Bundesliga, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke, RB Leipzig

With the Bundesliga resuming action after a long pause due to COVID-19, here's all you need to know ahead of matchday 26

2020 has been nothing short of a roller-coaster ride for people worldwide, with lives destroyed and turned upside down due to the contagion that has wreaked havoc globally since breaking out in Wuhan, China sometime in 2019. Football has not escaped this, with many leagues in Europe having to abruptly go on pause to avoid COVID-19 from rampaging through their teams and causing harm to players, staff, and fans.

In Germany, the Bundesliga was forced to make a difficult decision. On March 13th, the DFL decided to suspend both the Bundesliga and the 2.Bundesliga due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Germany. Fortunately, however, despite thousands of people losing their lives in the country, the German government appears to feel confident that they have gotten the pandemic under control. As a result, life is slowly starting to return to a "new normal"; that is, it is not anywhere near what people were used to before this disease made its way from China to Germany, but many of the lockdown restrictions are slowly starting to ease.

That also applies to football. The Bundesliga is set to resume play on May 16th, which makes them the first of Europe's top leagues to get back on the pitch. This is in stark contrast to Ligue 1, who has cancelled their season, while others like the Premier League, Serie A, and the Primeira Liga could possibly start sometime in late May or in June.

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WE CAN'T WAIT!The @bundesliga_en returns!! Green light given by the German government.

A post shared by Live Soccer TV (@livesoccertv) on May 6, 2020 at 7:26am PDT

How has the Bundesliga changed since the COVID-19 outbreak?

The Bundesliga is not immune to the "new normal" in this new post COVID-19 world. In order to protect everyone, the DFL, in conjunction with the government, has implemented some measures to try to make sure that everyone stays safe. Some of these new restrictions include:

All games will be played behind closed doors - so no fans in the stadiums
A maximum of 300 people in the stadium at a time. This includes players, coaches, and essential staff (medical personnel, other club employees, security, cameramen, journalists etc)
All players will be tested for COVID-19 once weekly
Press conferences will be conducted virtually

It will be an odd feeling, no doubt, for players to play in a stadium sans fans, and very likely, clubs may have to get creative to make up for the lack of ambience. Still, there is quite a lot to look forward to. Just before the pause, Bayern Munich had managed to claw their way to the top of the league table, but only just, as Dortmund are still within sight of the Bundesliga title, and Leipzig still could possibly close the gap if die Roten slip up again. And there is a very fascinating multi-horse race that has begun to open up for spots in the Europa League, among other noteworthy Bundesliga 2019/20 statistics ahead of the much anticipated May 16th return date.

Broadcast listings as the Bundesliga returns with matchday 26

Here are the specific broadcasters for the following countries:

USA: FOX (Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Fox Soccer Plus), Univision Deportes, ESPN, fuboTV, ESPN+

Australia: beIN Sports, Kayo Sports

Canada: SportsNet, SportsNet Now

France: beIN Sports

Germany: DAZN, Sky Bundesliga, EuroSport

UK: BT Sport

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WHAT WILL YOU WATCH?! Count on us for official worldwide multiplatform broadcast listings of all the fixtures as the @bundesliga_en returns! Can Saturday come faster, already?? Head over to LiveSoccerTV.com or the Live Soccer TV app now to prepare your Bundesliga LIVE viewing schedule!

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Below are the nine fixtures set to take place on matchday 26:

Saturday, May 16th:

06:30 PST/09:30 EST/13:30 GMT/15:30 CET - Augsburg vs Wolfsburg:

USA: Fubo TV, Fox Sports Go, FOX Soccer Match Pass, Fox Soccer Plus

Australia: Kayo Sports, beIN Sports Connect

Canada: Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet One

France: beIN Sports MAX 8, Free, beIN SPORTS CONNECT

Germany: Sky Sport Bundesliga 1, Sky Go, Sky Sport Bundesliga 5

UK: BT Sport App, BT Sport Extra, BTSport.com

06:30 PST/09:30 ET/13:30 GMT/15:30 CET - Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke:

USA: Fubo TV, Sling TV, Foxsports.com, FOX Soccer Match Pass, FOX Sports GO, Fox Deportes, Fox Sports 1

Australia: beIN Sports Connect, beIN Sports 1, Kayo Sports

Canada: Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet East

France: beIN Sports 2, Free, beIN SPORTS CONNECT

Germany: Sky Sport Bundesliga 2, Sky Go, Sky Sport Bundesliga 1

UK: BTSport.com, BT Sport App, BT Sport 1

06:30 PST/09:30 EST/13:30 GMT/15:30 CET - Fortuna Düsseldorf vs Paderborn:

USA: FOX Soccer Match Pass

Australia: beIN Sports Connect, Kayo Sports

Canada: Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet World Now

France: beIN Sports MAX 7, Free, beIN SPORTS CONNECT

Germany: Sky Go, Sky Sport Bundesliga 6, Sky Sport Bundesliga 1

UK: BT Sport App, BT Sport Extra, BTSport.com

06:30 PST/09:30 EST/13:30 GMT/15:30 CET - Hoffenheim vs Hertha Berlin:

USA: FOX Soccer Match Pass

Australia: beIN Sports Connect, Kayo Sports, beIN SPORTS 3

Canada: Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet Now

France: Free, beIN Sports MAX 6, beIN SPORTS CONNECT

Germany: Sky Go, Sky Sport Bundesliga 1, Sky Sport Bundesliga 4

UK: BTSport.com, BT Sport 3, BT Sport App

06:30 PST/09:30 EST/13:30 GMT/15:30 CET - RB Leipzig vs Freiburg:

USA: TUDN en Vivo, TUDN USA, FOX Soccer Match Pass, Fubo TV

Australia: beIN SPORTS 2, beIN Sports Connect, Kayo Sports

Canada: Sportsnet World, Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet World Now

France: beIN SPORTS CONNECT, beIN Sports MAX 5, Free

Germany: Sky Sport Bundesliga 3, Sky Sport Bundesliga 1, Sky Go

UK: BTSport.com, BT Sport App, BT Sport 2

09:30 PST/12:30 EST/16:30 GMT/18:30 CET - Eintracht Frankfurt vs Borussia M'gladbach:

USA: fubo TV, Sling TV, TUDN en Vivo, FOX Soccer Match Pass, Fox Sports GO, Foxsports.com, Fox Sports 1 USA, TUDN USA

Australia: beIN Sports 1, beIN Sports Connect, Kayo Sports

Canada: Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet World, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Pacific

France: beIN SPORTS CONNECT, Free, beIN Sports 1

Germany: Sky Sport Bundesliga UHD, Sky Sport Bundesliga 1, Sky Go

UK: BT Sport Ultimate, BT Sport App, BTSport.com, BT Sport 1

Sunday, May 17th:

06:30 PST/09:30 EST/13:30 GMT/15:30 CET - Köln vs Mainz:

USA: fubo TV, Sling TV, FOX Soccer Match Pass, Foxsports.com, Fox Sports GO, FOX Deportes, Fox Sports 1

Australia: Kayo Sports, beIN Sports Connect, beIN Sports 1

Canada: Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet World, Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet Ontario

France: beIN SPORTS CONNECT, beIN Sports 1, Free

Germany: Sky Go, Sky Sport Bundesliga 1

UK: BTSport.com, BT Sport 1, BT Sport App

09:00 PST/12:00 EST/16:00 GMT/18:00 CET - Union Berlin vs Bayern München:

USA: fubo TV, Sling TV, Fox Sports GO, TUDN en Vivo, FOX Soccer Match Pass, Fox Sports 1, Foxsports.com, Univision NOW, Fox Sports 1 USA, UniMás, TUDN USA, Bayern.TV

Australia: beIN Sports 1, beIN Sports Connect, Kayo Sports

Canada: Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet World, Sportsnet Pacific

France: beIN Sports 1, Free, beIN SPORTS CONNECT

Germany: Sky Go, Sky Sport Bundesliga 1

UK: BT Sport 1, BT Sport App, BTSport.com

Monday, May 18th:

11:30 PST/14:30 EST/18:30 GMT/20:30 CET - Werder Bremen vs Bayer Leverkusen:

USA: fubo TV, Sling TV, FOX Soccer Match Pass, Fox Sports GO, Foxsports.com, Fox Sports 2 USA

Australia: beIN Sports 1, beIN Sports Connect, Kayo Sports

Canada: Sportsnet Now, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet World Now, Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet World

France: beIN Sports 1, Free, beIN SPORTS CONNECT

Germany: DAZN

UK: BTSport.com, BT Sport 1, BT Sport App

If you do not live in the US, Australia, Canada, Germany or the UK, or live in a CET/GMT/EST/PST timezone, please check the schedule below for geo-targeted kick-off times and live broadcast listings for each of the nine Bundesliga matchday 26 fixtures: