The Bundesliga gets underway this weekend, with Bayern Munich hoping to win the league for a fifth consecutive year. Dortmund have made many new signings and will look to continue their progress under Thomas Tuchel, whilst a surprise team for this season could be RB Leipzig. It’s their first time in the Bundesliga, but their financial muscle means that they’re here to stay and could look to upset the big teams in their debut campaign. Let’s have a look at the title contenders and how they’re shaping up for the season ahead.
Bayern Munich
Major Signings: Mats Hummels (Dortmund, £29.75 million), Renato Sanches (Benfica, £29.75 million)
Pre-season Form
Played 6, won 4, drawn 1, lost 1. Beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in DFL Supercup
Key Fixtures
Schalke vs. Bayern Munich (9th September)
Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Monchengladbach (22nd October)
Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich (19th November)
Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen (26th November)
Bayern Munich vs. Schalke (4th February)
Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Bayern Munich (18th March)
Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund (8th April)
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Bayern Munich (15th April)
Team Quality
Bayern waltzed their way to a fourth consecutive Bundesliga title last season and it’ll take a brave man to bet against them winning a fifth. Carlo Ancelotti has taken over as manager in Munich, but with the league as good as wrapped up for the Bavarians, the Italian manager will have eyes on the Champions League. As if their squad wasn’t strong enough already, it’s been boosted by the arrival of Mats Hummels, whilst Renato Sanches was one of the young stars of Euro 2016.
Prediction: 1st (By a country mile)
Bayer Leverkusen
Major Signings: Kevin Volland (Hoffenheim, £17 million), Julian Baumgartlinger (Mainz, £3.4 million)
Pre-season Form
Played 7, won 5, drawn 2.
Key Fixtures
Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Bayer Leverkusen (27th August)
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Borussia Dortmund (1st October)
Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen (26th November)
Schalke vs. Bayer Leverkusen (10th December)
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Borussia Monchengladbach (28th January)
Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayer Leverkusen (4th March)
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Bayern Munich (15th April)
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Schalke (29th April)
Team Quality
Leverkusen finished last season in third place and qualified for the Champions League. Javier Hernandez was relied upon for the goals, but he’ll be helped this year by the arrival of Hoffeinheim’s Kevin Volland, who’s already scored 5 goals in 4 games at the BayArena. Roger Schmidt has a miserly defence at his disposal and pace on the counter-attack, but his Leverkusen squad is a level below that of Bayern’s and Dortmund’s in terms of quality.
Prediction: 3rd
Borussia Dortmund
Major Signings: André Schürrle (Wolfsburg, £25.5 million), Mario Götze (Bayern Munich, £18.7 million), Ousmane Dembélé (Rennes, £12.75 million), Sebastian Rode (£10.2 million), Raphaël Guerreiro (Lorient, £10.2 million), Marc Bartra (Barcelona, £6.8 million), Emre Mor (Nordsjaelland, £5.95 million)
Pre-season Form
Played 9, won 5, drawn 2, lost 2. Lost 2-0 to Bayern Munich in DFL Supercup
Key Fixtures
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Borussia Dortmund (1st October)
Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke (29th October)
Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayern Munich (19th November)
Borussia Dortmund vs. Borussia Monchengladbach (3rd December)
Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayer Leverkusen (4th March)
Schalke vs. Borussia Dortmund (1st April)
Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund (8th April)
Borussia Dortmund vs. Borussia Dortmund (22nd April)
Team Quality
Dortmund’s points tally of 78 last season would have seen them win the league in 49 of the last 53 Bundesliga seasons. Thomas Tuchel has been a success since taking over from Jurgen Klopp, but Dortmund’s problem once again has been the revolving transfer door. Hummels has been signed by Bayern, whilst last season’s player of the year Henrikh Mkhitaryan has also left for pastures new. Mario Götze and André Schürrle have arrived as reinforcements and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was prolific in front of goal last term.
Prediction: 2nd
Borussia Monchengladbach
Major Signings: Christoph Kramer (Bayer Leverkusen, £12.75 million), Jannik Verstergaard (Werder Bremen, £10.63 million)
Pre-season Form
Played 10, won 6, drawn 3, lost 1.
Key Fixtures
Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Bayer Leverkusen (27th August)
Schalke vs. Borussia Monchengladbach (1st October)
Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Monchengladbach (22nd October)
Borussia Dortmund vs. Borussia Monchengladbach (3rd December)
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Borussia Monchengladbach (28th January)
Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Schalke (4th March)
Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Bayern Munich (18th March)
Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Borussia Dortmund (22nd April)
Team Quality
Gladbach had a disastrous start to last season and found themselves in the relegation places after six games. Andre Schubert took control of the side and they rallied to a fourth place finish, scoring the third highest number of goals in the Bundesliga. They have three of the most promising youngsters in the league in their squad, in Mahmoud Dahoud, Andreas Christensen and Nico Elvedi, whilst the return of Christoph Kramer has boosted spirits. It’ll be interesting to see how far they can progress under Schubert, who has now had a full pre-season under his belt with the team.
Prediction: 5th
Schalke 04
Major Signings: Breel Embolo (Basel, £19.13 million), Coke (Sevilla, £3.4 million), Abdul Rahman Baba (Chelsea, loan)
Pre-season Form
Played 9, won 7, drawn 1, lost 1.
Key Fixtures
Schalke vs. Bayern Munich (9th September)
Schalke vs. Borussia Monchengladbach (1st October)
Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke (29th October)
Schalke vs. Bayer Leverkusen (10th December)
Bayern Munich vs. Schalke (4th February)
Borussia Monchengladbach vs. Schalke (4th March)
Schalke vs. Borussia Dortmund (1st April)
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Schalke (29th April)
Team Quality
Expectations are always high at Schalke, which is perhaps a reason as to why Andre Breitenreiter was let go at the end of last season, with Markus Weinzierl replacing him. Schalke didn’t qualify for the Champions League this season, meaning that Weinzierl’s first job will be to finish in the qualifying positions for next season’s competition. Breel Embolo was much coveted over the summer, but has arrived at the Veltins Arena and will be relied upon to score the goals.
Prediction: 4th
