Exciting and yet sadly predictable. That would be the easiest, but also the simplest explanation of Bundesliga. One of the most exciting leagues in Europe, and also the most efficient one (officially) is about to start on Friday, and the only question is: will anybody prevent Bayern Munich from winning their 11th consecutive title? And basically, we all know the answer…Sadio Mane With a goal for Bayern who won the Super Cup Mane has now won an amazing Four 🏆🏆🏆🏆In the past six months alone Impressive achievement Mane 👏 pic.twitter.com/IbhesvGZFP #Mane #SM17 #SM10 #LFC— supermane10 (@supermanelfc) July 31, 2022 If you want to know when was the last time a team not called Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund won the Bundesliga, we have to go back to the season 2008/09, when Wolfsburg won the title, and two years before that, Stuttgart won the title but it’s interesting to know that it was the last time that nor Bayern nor Borussia were in the top three (Schalke and Werder were second and third).##EDITORS_CHOICE##If it’s up to the dealings in the transfer market, the title can be already given to the Bavarians. The competition (which basically means Borussia Dortmund), but in general, all the clubs in Germany generally spend only as much as they earn, so even BVB with all their signings this season wasn’t near Bayern, not to mention the misfortune with the signing of Sebastien Haller, who was diagnosed with the testicular tumor quickly after signing and will miss most of the campaign. And yet, if in football everything relied only on transfer signings and money, City and PSG would be undefeated champions for the last 20 years.⏮ This game was wild ⏮ pic.twitter.com/U7WNmvQeUQ— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) August 4, 2022 Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig managed to keep the most important players, even to strengthen with one or two good players, however, it is impossible to escape the impression that this is only enough for the status of the third and fourth runners-up. And when you add the fact that those clubs are also competing in the strong Champions League this season, it’s easy to see why their ambitions are not so big. Apart from them, clubs like Eintracht Frankfurt (Europa League winners), Wolfsburg, Freiburg, Monchengladbach and Hoffenheim should still fight for places in Europe, but let’s not the forget the team which is playing in Europe for the second year in a row, against all odds – Union Berlin.Neither Barca, nor Brighton, nor Sevilla – Angelino is closest to HoffenheimThere will be, off course a battle at the bottom of the league. German giants Schalke and Werder Bremen are back after just one year in Bundesliga 2, and it will be interesting to see if they manage to stay up, especially since they didn’t have enough cash to splash around (especially Bremen).Battle at the topIt’s Bayern’s title to lose and it’s been like that for 10 years now. And the Bavarians managed to deliver again, as they strengthen their squad even before the biggest Bundesliga star went to Barcelona. Julian Nagelsmann got Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus), Ryan Gravenberch (Ajax), Sadio Mane (Liverpool) Noussair Mazraoui (Ajax) and Mathys Tel (Rennes), which basically means not only that he needs to win the title, but also to advance deep into the Champions League elimination stages. Villarreal case is no longer acceptable.There are now 17 million Bayern fans in SenegalLewandowski’s exit and some of those additions will also force the German tactician to change formation, which is something he desired, but couldn’t do with Lewa in the squad. Nagelsmann likes a more flexible team, without the classic ‘nine’, and with a greater possibility of transformation. Bringing De Ligt and the fact that Bayern now has four top stoppers, and Davis’ huge offensive potential, along with the engagement of Noussair Mazraoui, suggests that Nagelsmann could also test some variants with three players in the last line, and high-placed wing backs, just like he did in Leipzig.Brazzo to Lewa: ‘Never shut the door with your butt”Mane came as a new superstar to replace Lewa, Ryan Gravenberch to increase the competition in the middle of the field, and 17-year-old Mathys Tel was paid so much, that it would be a big surprise if he didn’t get serious minutes at least in the Bundesliga. And let’s not forget that this should be a season for Musiala, who is seen as a future star in Munich.Boy wonder Mathys Tel is Bayern’s new project for the futureHigh expectations after a good transfer window and a change of coach, with an ‘inside man’ Edin Terzic coming back, was soon met with a harsh reality of Haller’s tumor and Niklas Sule’s injury. Faced with a departure of Erling Haaland, which is similar to Bayern’s departure of Lewandowski, Borussia managed to sign two offensive players: Haller and former Bayern youth product Karim Adeyemi. Gravenberch in Bayern until 2027, Ajax could earn up to 24 million eurosApart from a big signing Sule, defensive problems have been covered (at least on paper) with talented Nico Schlotterbeck from Freiburg so there is a reason for optimism in Dortmund. Whoever comes in to replace Haller will have a lot of help from Adeyemi, Mallen and there are other ‘young guns’ who will come along and help further more. If there are no more bad injuries, this could be an interesting season for Borussia.Champions League skirmishA host of clubs will look to occupy the other two remaining places for the Champions League and among them, RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen are the main candidates. They kept the vast majority of the squad, they finished in the top 4 last year, but they will play the Champions League this season, so the main question is will they be able to keep up the pace in the two strong competitions, or will clubs like Entracht Frankfurt or even Freiburg surpass them on the finish line. Borussia Monchengladbach played in the later stages of the CL just two seasons ago with almost the same squad and with a new coach, the surprise is possible, although a fight for the Europa League looks more reasonable. And there are other clubs who will join the race: Union Berlin, Koln, Hoffenheim…Finally, it’s starting 💓Europa League champs vs. Bundesliga champs kickoff the Bundesliga season.#SGEFCB pic.twitter.com/BLhVqpHwTt— DW Sports (@dw_sports) August 5, 2022 Survival strugleAs in any other European league, teams which were promoted to the first league are always the top candidates for the drop and Bundesliga is no different. Schalke and Werder might be big names, but it doesn’t mean they will stay up just like that, especially looking at their reinforcements. A bunch of low-key signings and a lot of free agents won’t necessary excite the fans, but that just might work at the end of May 2023. Hertha Berlin managed to survive by winning against HSV in the playoffs, but looking at their transfer activities so far, they haven’t learned their lesson from last season. Augsburg and Bochum should be added to this list, as they are not so strong to be in the middle of the table, and Stuttgart, who nearly beat the drop in May this year could face another tough season, even thou they have a promising squad with the youngest average in Bundesliga – 22.BUNDESLIGA – MATCHDAY 1Friday21.30: (7.00) Eintr. Frankfurt (4.60) Bayern (1.45)Saturday16.30: (3.40) Augsburg (3.35) Freiburg (2.30)16.30: (1.90) Wolfsburg (3.60) Werder (4.40)16.30: (2.30) M’ gladbach (3.60) Hoffenheim (3.20)16.30: (1.90) Union Berlin (3.60) Hertha (4.50)16.30: (3.25) Bochum (3.20) Mainz (2.45)19.30: (2.25) Dortmund (3.60) Leverkusen (3.30)Sunday16.30: (4.60) Stuttgart (3.70) RB Leipzig (1.85)18.30: (1.85) Koln (3.70) Schalke (4.60)***odds are subject to change
