Who are Bayer Leverkusen's challengers for the Bundesliga title?
Bayer Leverkusen picked up their maiden Bundesliga title last season in dominant fashion, becoming the first team to go an entire campaign unbeaten as they coasted to a 17-point buffer over second-placed VfB Stuttgart. As such, Xabi Alonso’s outfit are the team to beat this time around, but who will be challenging them for the crown? bundesliga.com takes a look at the other contenders for the Meisterschale…
Bayern will have been hugely disappointed with how last season unfolded. For the first time in 12 years, they didn’t end the season top of the pile and even dropped down to third place, while their early DFB Cup exit to 3. Liga Saarbrücken was a major shock. A run to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League restored plenty of confidence, but it was clear work needed to be done over the summer.
As such, it has been an off-season of change at the Allianz Arena. Vincent Kompany, who joins from Burnley, is the new coach, and the Bavarians will be hoping his fresh outlook and experience of playing under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City will return them to the top of German football.
Watch: New Bayern Boss - Kompany Era Begins
Bayern have also boosted their playing squad, mainly with the additions of winger Michael Olise and defensive midfielder João Palhinha. Both impressed in the English Premier League with Crystal Palace and Fulham respectively and are ready to take the Bundesliga by storm.
Kompany’s objective is simple: win the Bundesliga. Considering Bayern’s history of triumph and their ‘Mia san mia’ motto, settling for anything less is uncharacteristic. It remains to be seen whether they now have enough to overtake a Leverkusen side that dished out a 3-0 defeat the last time these two met.
Supporters were shocked when Edin Terzić announced his decision to depart Dortmund after the end of the previous campaign, especially considering Die Schwarzgelben had just reached the Champions League final – they ultimately lost 2-0 to Real Madrid. However, that European run somewhat papered over BVB’s worst league finish in nine years (fifth), with their qualification for the Champions League only secured thanks to the collective performance of German clubs in continental competition.
Terzić, though, had a great relationship with the supporters, and those higher up will be hoping new head coach Nuri Şahin’s 11 years with the club as a player will earn him the Yellow Wall’s full support. He has certainly been backed in the transfer market, with Borussia bringing in five fresh faces, including the prolific Serhou Guirassy in place of the outgoing Niclas Füllkrug.
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Yan Couto will provide attacking verve from full-back, while Waldemar Anton’s presence at the heart of the back four alongside compatriot Nico Schlotterbeck will go a long way to replacing Mats Hummels following his exit. Maximilian Beier scored 16 goals for Hoffenheim last term, giving Şahin another option in an already packed forward line. At the same time, Pascal Groß’s displays for Brighton & Hove Albion in England suggest he has the creative and technical ability Dortmund crave in the middle of the park.
In addition to their Champions League final defeat, Dortmund were also whiskers away from winning the Bundesliga title in 2022/23, ultimately losing out on the final day. They have been the bridesmaid often enough – now, it could be time for them to take their place at the altar and make the final leap.
Leipzig produced another solid campaign in Marco Rose’s second season in the dugout. They weren’t quite able to hit the heights of the 2022/23 term, when they lifted the DFB Cup for a second consecutive season, but they still comfortably qualified for Europe’s premier club competition for the seventh time in eight seasons even after losing Dominik Szoboszlai, Josko Gvardiol and Christopher Nkunku.
This summer, Dani Olmo returned to his Spanish homeland after lighting up the Bundesliga for the best part of five years. However, it has otherwise been a relatively quiet transfer window at the Red Bull Arena. In his place, Leipzig have signed exciting talent Antonio Nusa, although their best bit of business may well be securing another loan deal for Xavi Simons.
Watch: Xavi "in the right place to further develop"
The Netherlands international was Leipzig’s creative hub last term, and with Loïs Openda and Benjamin Šeško each one year more experienced, Die Roten Bullen could well score be even more lethal up top – their tally on 77 strikes in 2023/24 was their second-highest in the top flight.
At this point, Leipzig have long since established themselves as one of Germany’s leading outfits. Now, with a settled coach at the helm and little upheaval during pre-season, they could be primed to make a real tilt at the top spot.
After requiring a relegation play-off against Hamburg to retain their Bundesliga status two years ago, Stuttgart completed their incredible turnaround by finishing second and qualifying for the Champions League last season. In August 2023, they kicked off the season with a 5-0 victory over Bochum - a sign of things to come - and didn’t drop outside the top three after the winter break.
While there is plenty of optimism heading into the new campaign, this past summer has not been without its obstacles. Guirassy, who scored 28 goals last season to finish second to Harry Kane in the race for the Bundesliga’s Torjägerkanone and the European Golden Shoe, has departed for Dortmund, where club captain Anton has joined him. Hiroki Ito’s switch to Bayern makes it a trio of key performers no longer plying their trade in Swabia.
Watch: Analysing VfB Stuttgart
Replacing their output was always going to be difficult, but the arrival of Augsburg skipper Ermedin Demirović is a coup given his haul of 24 goal contributions last term. How he and the other new arrivals fit in will be crucial, and, unlike last season, Sebastian Hoeneß will have to juggle the Bundesliga with eight additional European matches.
Hoeneß and his staff will certainly take heart from their outfit’s performance against Leverkusen in the Supercup, when they were just minutes away from clinching the first trophy of the campaign before Patrik Schick struck to send the game to penalties – Die Werkself ultimately prevailed. Should Die Schwaben be able to keep up that level of intensity and desire throughout the coming nine months, they will believe anything is possible.
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