German top-flight football returns on Friday, with a match between Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and visiting RB Leipzig set to kick off the 2025-26 season.
Bayer Leverkusen lost their crown as the top division’s best team last season, and they start their own season on Saturday at home to Hoffenheim.
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After boss Xabi Alonso left, along with a number of high-profile players, new head coach Erik ten Hag may find it difficult to catch up with the Bavarian teams. Borussia Dortmund will be hoping to make their voice heard in the title race, while there will certainly be a significant battle between teams like Freiburg and Mainz 05 for the division’s European spots.
At the other end of the table, Hamburger SV and FC Koln have earned their way back to the top division, but the duo face a battle to stay in the league this season. Sports Mole predicts the upcoming Bundesliga season, including a prediction of what the final table could look like.
Bundesliga title favourites for 2025-26: Will Bayern Munich be beaten by Borussia Dortmund?
Bayern Munich has long been the dominant force in German football, with 12 of the last 13 league titles, including the 2024-25 title.
Coach Vincent Kompany managed to lead the Bavarians to 82 points, 13 more than second-placed Bayer Leverkusen, and the club scored 99 goals in the league.
The champion’s total yield was at least 27 points more than any of the other 17 teams in the division managed, and with players like Harry Kane still at the Allianz Arena, it wouldn’t be surprising if they scored a similar number in 2025-26.
Leverkusen may have ambitions to challenge, but they will have to compete without talisman Florian Wirtz, wing-back Jeremie Frimpong, midfielder Granit Xhaka and centre-back Jonathan Tah after their exit in this transfer window, the latter of whom signed for Bayern.
Ten Hag had been sacked by Manchester United in October 2024, but although the English team disappointed in the Premier League, the Dutch coach won two trophies during his time at the club.
Perhaps Borussia Dortmund can mount a challenge under the leadership of head coach Niko Kovac, who was appointed in January as the successor to Nuri Sahin.
BVB collected 22 points out of a possible 24 in their last eight games of the season, and they also pressured Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, although their 3-1 win in the second leg in April was not enough to overcome their 4-0 loss in the first leg.
Dortmund have also kept most of last season’s squad intact, with Jamie Bynoe-Gittens being the club’s only big sell, but the winger only started three of the team’s last 12 Bundesliga games.
Kovac’s side will face St. Pauli on Saturday, and they will face three of last year’s bottom six in their first three games of the new Bundesliga season.
The battle for Europe in the Bundesliga in 2025-26
Seven teams from the Bundesliga qualified for Europe last season, with Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund qualifying for the Champions League, while Freiburg and Stuttgart made it to the Europa League.
The latter only qualified for the Europa League thanks to their DFB-Pokal triumph, but they have retained talented coach Sebastian Hoeness and they hope to improve on their ninth place.
Mainz 05 had an outstanding season, finishing sixth with 52 points, qualifying for the Conference League, and they improved their scoring and placement in 2023-24 by seven places and 17 points.
Leipzig had participated in a European competition in each of their previous eight seasons, but their seventh place finish in the last season means that their schedule will be significantly lighter this time around.
Ole Werner replaced previous Leipzig head coach Marco Rose, and after leading Werder Bremen to their highest finish (eighth) in the last five seasons, there are high hopes for 2025-26.
If the winner of the 2025-26 DFB-Pokal also finishes in the top six, only six teams will qualify for Europe next season.
Who can be relegated from the Bundesliga in 2025-26?
Heidenheim were lucky to avoid relegation since they only survived thanks to the victory against the 2. Bundesliga beat Elversberg in a playoff match in May, winning 4-3 on aggregate.
FC Koln and Hamburger SV secured promotion to the top division from the second tier, and although many would predict their relegation, both St. Pauli and Holstein Kiel survived in 2024-25 despite it being their first seasons back in the Bundesliga.
Hoffenheim and St. Pauli finished within three points of the league’s 16th-placed relegation play-off spot, and they could be candidates for relegation next season.
What notable signings have been made by Bundesliga clubs?
Bayern were looking for a striker, but while they had been chasing Leverkusen’s Wirtz, they finally landed on Liverpool winger Luis Diaz.
The Colombian was brought to the club for a sum of around £65 million, and after excelling for the English side in their title-winning season in 2024-25, Kompany hopes the attacker can produce similar numbers in Germany.
Jarell Quansah was signed by Bayer Leverkusen from Liverpool, and Ten Hag may have to rely on the centre-back if he is to challenge for the title, especially after losing Tah to the champions.
Dortmund may have lost Jude Bellingham to Real Madrid in the summer of 2023, but they have added his brother Jobe Bellingham to the squad this transfer window from Sunderland.
The Englishman is an energetic presence in midfield, and while it’s unfair to expect him to reach the heights of Jude, the 19-year-old’s talent is evident.
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Who can be the top scorer in the Bundesliga in 2025-26?
Harry Kane ended the 2024-25 Bundesliga season as the top scorer, finding the back of the net 26 times for Bayern Munich.
The Englishman took the top spot for the second season in a row, although the number was 10 fewer than he managed in 2023-24.
If Kane’s goals decline, Patrik Schick and Serhou Guirassy will be ready to strike in the race for top scorers, as they finished tied for second in the table last season with 21 goals for Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund respectively.
Jonathan Burkardt scored 18 times for Mainz 05 last season, and the player will be eager to be just as productive for Eintracht Frankfurt in 2025-26.
Predicted Bundesliga table for 2025-26
- Bayern Munich (C)
- Borussia Dortmund
- RB Leipzig
- Eintracht Frankfurt
- Bayer Leverkusen
- Freiburg
- Stuttgart
- Mainz 05
- Borussia Mönchengladbach
- Union Berlin
- Wolfsburg
- Hoffenheim
- FC Köln
- Werder Bremen
- Augsburg
- St. Pauli (RP)
- Heidenheim (R)
- Hamburger SV (R)
