Last season, Bayer Leverkusen failed to defend the title they had won the year before, when they ended Bayern Munich’s long “dictatorship.” The Werkself finished second, a long way behind the Bavarians: despite having only one more defeat than Kane and his teammates, the Rossoneri suffered from too many draws—12 in total—which prevented them from keeping pace with Vincent Kompany’s men, who returned to their steamroller form of previous seasons.
It was inevitable, therefore, that a sort of “diaspora” would take place in the summer: the deus ex machina of the title, Xabi Alonso, could not say no to the siren call of Real Madrid, but two pillars of the team coached by the Basque coach who won both the cup and the league in 2024, Wirtz and Frimpong, also left, both ending up at Liverpool.
The decision to rely on the controversial Erik ten Hag, fresh from a very negative experience at Manchester United, has not been entirely convincing: the Dutch coach will attempt to relaunch his career, but it will be very difficult not to miss Alonso. In their German Cup debut against Grossaspach, there were both positives and negatives, even though Leverkusen defeated their modest opponents with a resounding 4-0 victory (with Schick and Grimaldo also scoring). There are therefore quite a few pitfalls in store for Christian Ilzer’s Hoffenheim, who finished fourth from bottom in last season’s Bundesliga and had the second-worst defense in the league (68 goals conceded). Leverkusen are favorites, but in light of the many changes, surprises cannot be ruled out. The one certainty in this case is goals: we expect a prolific match.
Predictions for the other matches
Eintracht Frankfurt wants to get off on the right foot after last year’s excellent third place finish, in which it collected 60 points (its best result since the 1981-82 season). Dino Toppmoller’s Adler, who will return to Champions League action, are favorites in their home match against Werder Bremen, who are at the dawn of a new cycle following the departure of Ole Werner (now at Leipzig), who had been at the helm of the green and white team since 2021.
Unbeaten in preseason (three wins and two draws) and victorious in the German Cup against Lotte (0-2), Freiburg should take advantage of home field advantage in their match against Augsburg, who are usually less formidable at home, while the match between Heidenheim and Wolfsburg promises to be evenly matched: in all likelihood, both teams will score. Finally, at least one goal per side is also expected between Union Berlin and Stuttgart: the visitors lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup on Saturday, while the capital side ran riot in the cup against Gutersloh, redeeming a preseason in which they had suffered almost nothing but defeats.
Bundesliga: possible winners
Eintracht Frankfurt (in Eintracht Frankfurt-Werder Bremen)
Freiburg or draw (in Freiburg-Augsburg)
Matches with at least three goals in total
Eintracht Frankfurt-Werder Bremen
Bayer Leverkusen-Hoffenheim
Bundesliga: matches with at least one goal per team
Heidenheim-Wolfsburg
Union Berlin-Stuttgart
Odds comparison
Eintracht Frankfurt’s victory is quoted at 1.70 on Lottomatica and 1.65 on Snai. The “Goal” bet in Union Berlin-Stuttgart is quoted at 1.53 on Lottomatica and Snai.