Bayern Munich have been untouchable in the German Bundesliga over the last couple of years. Will the Bavarians keep up their stranglehold over the league this season or is there a challenger that can take them down? Read on below for our preview of the teams to watch out for in the 2017-18 Bundesliga season.
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2017-18 German Bundesliga Preview
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Bayern Munich (-700)
There is only one favorite for the Bundesliga title, and that’s Bayern Munich. The Bavarians have won the league a record five years in a row, and it’ll take a pretty disastrous sequence of events to prevent them from extending that streak to six.
Even with the retirement of club legend Philipp Lahm, midfield maestro Xabi Alonso, as well as the loss of Medhi Benatia and Douglas Costa to Juventus, they still reloaded as they always do. In come Corentin Tolisso, Kinglsey Coman, James Rodriguez (on loan), and Sebastian Rudy to join an already stacked squad that includes superstars Robert Lewandowski, Manuel Neuer, Arjen Robben, and Thomas Muller.
Bayern have run away with the Bundesliga by at least 10 points during their dominant five-year run, and with another outstanding squad at manager Carlo Ancelotti’s disposal, it’s tough to see anyone else coming close to the Bavarian juggernauts this season.
Sleepers
Borussia Dortmund (+700)
There’s a new man in charge at Dortmund after Thomas Tuchel’s less-than-amicable departure from the club. Peter Bosz takes over after a very successful lone season at Ajax where he led the Dutch giants to the Europa League final.
Bosz will have a very talented squad at his disposal, especially in attack. Despite much speculation, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang—the Bundesliga’s top scorer with 31 goals—is still with Dortmund, who also added the likes of Maximilian Philipp and Mahmoud Dahoud to a squad that already boasts attacking talents such as rising American superstar Christian Pulisic, Ousmane Dembele, and Marco Reus.
However, it remains to be seen whether Dembele will still be with the club as Barcelona have signaled their interest in the 20-year-old to replace the departed Neymar. And even if he does stay, a lot of things will still have to break right for Dortmund to be within striking distance of Bayern in Bosz’s debut season.
RB Leipzig (+2,000)
Last year’s surprise package RB Leipzig had an excellent first season in the Bundesliga. They were Bayern’s top competitors for most of the year, until a loss against Bayern basically derailed their title hopes.
Leipzig have done well to hold onto their key players, most notably midfielder Naby Keita, who attracted serious interest from Liverpool. However, manager Ralph Hasenhuttl will now have the Champions League to contend with this season, which will push his squad to its limits.
That extra time spent concentrating on Europe, coupled with some old-fashioned regression to the mean, almost certainly guarantee that Leipzig will take a step down from last season’s amazing runner-up finish. However, a top-three spot is still well within reach.
Schalke 04 (+6,600)
Schalke are coming off a disappointing 10th-place finish last season, which cost manager Markus Weinzierl his job. Domenico Tedesco is now in charge, and he will have a solid squad to work with after a strong summer’s worth of transfers. They finally signed midfielders Nabil Bentaleb and Yevhen Konoplyanka to permanent deals, and also added promising young midfielder Amine Harit.
However, Schalke still haven’t addressed by far their biggest need, which is the lack of a top striker. They scored just 45 goals in 34 games last year, and their top scorer Guido Burgstaller had just nine goals. They do have talented young forwards in Breel Embolo and American Haji Wright, and if either/both can provide an impact this season, Schalke could just be able to find enough goals to contend.
Long Shot
Hoffenheim (+10,000)
While Leipzig were hogging the headlines as Bundesliga’s big surprise team, Hoffenheim were just as big a surprise in their own right. Led by 30-year-old manager Julian Nagelsmann and his 3-5-2 system, they were the last team in the five major European leagues to go undefeated.
Nagelmann lost a couple of his top performers in Sebastian Rudy and Niklas Sule to Bayern in the summer, but did get back Serge Gnabry to strengthen their attack.
The element of surprise is now gone for Hoffenheim this season, and if they qualify for the Champions League group stage, that extra European commitment will take its toll on the team. But of the clubs with massive five-digit odds, Hoffenheim seem like the one with the best chance of contending for one of the top spots in the table this season.
Writer’s Prediction
Bayern (-700) make it six titles in a row as they run away with the Bundesliga yet again.
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