Bayern Munich and the rest
Before a new Bundesliga season, the eternal question is always: Who can threaten mighty Bayern Munich? Bayern head into the new campaign as overwhelming favourites under manager Vincent Kompany after winning a dominant domestic double last season, while accomplishing a record-breaking 122 league goals behind talisman Harry Kane.
The dominance of the Bavarian powerhouse is so fierce that some argue Bayern are treating the competition as a warm-up for the Champions League.
Bayer Leverkusen, under the reign of Xabi Alonso, had the audacity to disturb the order of the day in the German Bundesliga in 2024, but their league and cup double while remaining unbeaten remains the only stain on Bayern’s record since Klopp led Borussia Dortmund to back-to-back titles in 2012.
“The battle for starting spots at FC Bayern is more exciting than the race for the German championship,” Lothar Matthaus wrote in a column for Sky, while the former West Germany great predicted Kompany’s team would again win the Bundesliga by more than 10 points.
But as always, there is trouble in Paradise, as so often before in "FC Hollywood," as Bayern are often referred to. A question mark remains about transfer policy as the future of Sporting director Max Eberl remains unclear.
There was growing dissatisfaction over the summer with the lack of progress on what could be crucial signings, particularly an urgent need to replace Manuel Neuer (who enters his final season) and reinforcements at centre back, where Bayern looked very vulnerable in the Champions League semi-final against PSG.
Greek influence at Dortmund
Eberl has also come under fire for missing key targets Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola, but purchases of Nathaniel Brown from Eintracht Frankfurt and Ismael Saibari from PSV Eindhoven have gone some way to silence the critics. At the same time, Jamal Musiala's frequent collapses have disturbed the tranquillity at Sabener Strasse ahead of the season.
If last weekend's entertaining Super Cup final is anything to go by, Borussia Dortmund are closing in on Bayern, but a host of question marks face the Ruhr club before the start of the season.
The two new Greek international signings, Nico Karetsas and Giannis Konstantelias, looked promising during the Super Cup, but have they got the mental stamina to make a name for themselves in the German Bundesliga?
Dutchman Joey Veerman will have his hands full trying to fill the gap left by playmaker Julian Brandt, while critics have argued that with Karim Adeyemi, BVB has let go of one of the best attacking players the club has had since Jude Bellingham.
BVB’s world-class scouting operation has seemingly been improved following the departure of Sebastian Kehl, who has been replaced by a rising star in German football management in the shape of Ole Book, who was widely recognised for bringing SV Elversberg from the Regionalliga to the Bundesliga.
One of Book's assignments might be to find a replacement for coach Nico Kovac, whose style of play has underwhelmed fans, and whose expiring contract has yet to be renewed. Last season was the first season in a decade where the club won no titles, so there is an urgent need for silverware at Signal Iduna Park.
Leipzig without Diomande
Martin DeMichelis has been handed the coaching responsibility at RB Leipzig, after former Werder Bremen coach Ole Werner was dismissed at the end of last season in spite of the third-placed finish.
Leipzig will have a huge job on their hands to replace outstanding winger Yan Diomande, who signed for Real Madrid for a club record fee, and striker Lois Openda.
However, RB Leipzig have been boosted by the fact that they have been able to keep most of their squad intact, including Christoph Baumgartner, Ridle Baku, Brajan Gruda, and Castello Lukeba, all players with a track record of delivering.
No doubt they have funds in the bank to bring in more signings in January if needed, but the ambitious East German club still don't look like title contenders.
VfB Stuttgart finished fourth last season by further improving the squad which coach Sebastian Hoeness built for their 2024 DFB Pokal win. Stuttgart has retained most of their squad, as only attacking midfielder Noah Darvich has left for newly promoted Elversberg.
Keeping attacking midfielders Angelo Stiller and Ermedin Demirovic, as well as Jamie Leweling on the wing in the squad, will no doubt be crucial. In defence, Maximilian Mittelstadt and Jeff Chabot will steady their rearguard while Feyenoord winger Leo Sauer will add creativity up front.
Can Carles Martinez Novell get Leverkusen going?
After Kasper Hjulmand proved a disappointment after he took over from Erik ten Hag, who was sacked after only three matchdays, the appointment of new manager Carles Martinez Novell now sets the tone for the Werkself. The Spanish manager is widely recognised as part of the management team that led Toulouse to their first-ever major trophy, the 2023 Coupe de France.
Despite losing Piero Hincapie to Arsenal and quality left-back Alejandro Grimaldo to Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen can take comfort from the fact that they have retained the most important players, including Robert Andrich, Malick Tilman, Edmond Tapsoba, Exequiel Palacios, and Jarrel Quansah.
TSG Hoffenheim were the most improved team in the Bundesliga last season with Austrian coach Christian Ilzer. Last season, Hoffenheim finished fifth, a massive 10 places better than in 24/25, qualifying once for the Europa League in the season ahead.
However, their defence will be a concern for Ilzer, which needs addressing if they are to continue their improvement despite the addition of left-back Max Rots from SC Twente.
No doubt TSG have the ability to push again for a European place in the season ahead, but they will have to adapt without the services of Bazoumane Toure, and they are also likely to have to replace want-away striker Fiznik Aslani, who is expected to leave with just four days to go before transfer deadline day.
Adi Hutter to steady ship at Frankfurt
Adi Hutter is back as Frankfurt coach to steady the ship at Frankfurt after Albert Riera’s dramatic tenure last season. Riera fell out with players, team officials and fans, and after he was sacked, blasted the club for treating him poorly and said he would not take any Frankfurt players for future projects.
Under Riera's reign, Frankfurt finished eighth, just outside the European qualification places.
Frankfurt looked very vulnerable at the back and had the second-worst number of goals conceded in 25/26. While they have made some smart transfers this summer, with Noel Aseseko arriving from Bayern, there will be worries about their lack of experience, as they have the youngest squad in the Bundesliga.
Thanks to Jonathan Burkhardt, Frankfurt has one of Germany’s most talented young attackers, who will form a deadly duo with Can Uzun, also among the most prolific scorers and assist providers last season.
Freiburg finished in seventh spot last season, and qualification for the UEFA Conference League was a great reward for an impressive season under the reign of the former assistant to Christian Streich, Julian Schuster.
They will no doubt be handicapped by the absence of top-performing players Johan Manzambi, Junior Adamu and Merlin Rohl, who definitely need to be replaced if the club are to continue making advances up the table in the coming season.
Ruhr Derby is back
After Dane Bo Henriksen's experimental reign ended at Mainz, Swiss coach Urs Fischer helped turn things around at the Mewa Arena. In the second half of the season, the Red and Whites launched an impressive charge up the table, which made them finish in 10th place after being rock-bottom in the league for part of the season.
Urs Fischer, who led Union Berlin from the second tier to the Champions League, is in command of a team that looks very promising in attack but certainly also looks vulnerable in defence.
This Bundesliga season will certainly benefit from the return of the Ruhr derby, as Schalke are back in the Bundesliga after three seasons away, bringing extra spice to one of Germany's fiercest rivalries.
Miron Muslic’s team will aim to do better than 2022 when Schalke's return to Bundesliga action lasted just one season, but there will certainly be fears that they are putting too much faith in ageing striker Edin Dzeko, who’s staying on for another year.
Like Schalke, Paderborn and Elversberg will, as the other promoted sides, be fighting for survival in the 64th Bundesliga season. For the latter, it's the first time they've been in the Bundesliga, after the Saarland-based club played at the fourth-tier level in 2021/22.
As they say in Germany, "Jetzt geht's los".