A thrilling opening weekend of Bundesliga action saw Bayern open things up with a 5-0 win over Hamburg. A wild Saturday included Borussia Dortmund smack Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-0 in Thomas Tuchel’s debut. Bayer Leverkusen came from behind against 1899 Hoffenheim with a late goal from youngster Julian Brandt. Here are some of the biggest takeaways from the first weekend of the Bundesliga.
Bundesliga Season Preview
England’s season is about to kick off, but fans of the Bundesliga will have to wait until next Friday to see the best in Germany duke it out for the meisterschale. I am going to give you an idea on how I think the table will look like in May.
1. FC Bayern Munich
This is the easiest of them all, the Bavarians look like they will become the first German team to win the Bundesliga four times in a row. Pep Guardiola’s boys took the Bundesliga relatively easily last season and I expect them to do the same again this year. With new signings Douglas Costa, Arturo Vidal and young Joshua Kimmich, they look even more dangerous than last year. If they can stay relatively injury free, they will grab their fourth title in as many years.
2. VfL Wolfsburg
The Wolves are the real deal, and they are Bayern’s only real title threat this season. With a squad made up of André Schürrle, Kevin De Bruyne and Ricardo Rodriguez, the Wolves will be competitive this year. Don’t forget, they also have the Champions League on their plate this year as well, so Dieter Hecking will have to dip into his squad many times to avoid fatigue and injury.
3. Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen are an exciting team, with young stars such as Julian Brandt and Jonathan Tah, Bayer will aim for direct qualification for the Champions League by finishing in third. Leverkusen have an excellent squad on paper, it’s all a matter of performing out on the pitch,I’m sure Hakan Calhanoglu will dazzle us with some amazing free kicks this year.
4. Borussia Dortmund
I believe Dortmund will have an incredible bounce back this season. An abysmal campaign last year saw Dortmund sitting in a relegation zone at Christmas. Thomas Tuchel has a great team to work with, adding midfielder Gonzalo Castro and keeper Roman Burki. Dortmund are strong favourites to win the Europa league this year so hopefully that won’t take away from their domestic campaign, as they will look to enter the Champions League again next season.
5. FC Schalke 04
The Royal Blues have put together an impressive team and with new man André Breitenreiter they will hope to bounce back from a disappointing season a year ago. Max Meyer and new man Johannes Geis will be the youthful injection in the midfield, and Dutch striker Huntelaar and Franco Di Santo will be the men in attack. Europa League for the Gelsenkirchen side.
6. Borussia Mönchengladbach
Gladbach will be an exciting team to watch this season, Lucien Favre has installed good brand of football in Gladbach and will want it take his boys to the top. However this season will not be their year as I believe they just do not have the squad depth to handle the stress of playing in three competitions. They will make it to Europe again next season, they might just have to play some qualification rounds.
7. 1899 Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim has made some sneaky good signings this transfer window and they could push for a spot in Europe this year. Look for Kevin Volland to have a breakout season.
8. FC Augsburg
Augsburg surprised everyone last season by having such a low payroll, yet still managing to finish in fifth. I think the Bavarian club will be good enough to do it again. Just not as good as last season.
9. FC Köln
Cologne once was a Bundesliga powerhouse, those days are gone however but they have a good enough squad to round out the top half of the table.
10. Werder Bremen
American striker Aaron Johanssen seems to be a good signing.
11. Eintracht Frankfurt
Lookout for Marco Standera.
12. FSV Mainz 05
Will they be able to cope without Shinji Okazaki?
13. VfB Stuttgart
Mitch Langerak is not enough to take them into the top half.
14. Hanover 96
They are predicted by many to have a bad season.
15. Hertha BSC
They will just get out of relegation this season.
16. Hamburger SV
Once again, they will play in the relegation playoff and win. It’s inevitable.
17. SV Darmstadt 98
I just don’t think they have the quality to stay in the Bundesliga.
18. FC Ingolstadt 04
Unfortunately I don’t see any of the freshly promoted teams staying up.
Bundesliga Transfer Round Up
We are getting closer to the kickoff of the Bundesliga season, and there have been some interesting signings that have happened in Germany’s top flight. A batch of new fresh faces, players leaving and players swapping shirts, I will be highlighting some of the key transfers.
Danke Basti
Bastian Schweinsteiger, Bayern Munich legend has decided to pack his bags and pursue new challenges in Manchester. One of the biggest transfers this summer, not because of the money, but because of how big Schweinsteiger is in the world of soccer.
Must See Bundesliga Fixtures
The Bundesliga fixture list was released this past Friday and there are some real interesting matches in the first half of the season that you need to tune into.
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