GGFN journalists’ Bundesliga season predictions 2025/26 | OneFootball

It’s here. The 2025/26 Bundesliga season is upon us. With an exciting season ahead of us, Get German Football News’ journalists make their predictions ahead of the season, picking the Meisterschale winning team, UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and Europa Conference League qualifiers, as well as selecting our relegation candidates, Player of the Season and the Golden Boot winner.

Who will be crowned Bundesliga champions?

Daniel Pinder, Editor-in-Chief

Bayern Munich have won 12 of the last 13 Bundesliga titles, and it’s difficult to look past the Rekordmeister once again. Bayer Leverkusen pushed them to a point last season, but ultimately fell off after drawing too many games. Borussia Dortmund showed consistency under Niko Kovac and I fancy them to be Bayern’s closest challengers, but will again fall short.

Jamie Allen, Sub-editor

For me, I can’t see beyond another Bayern Munich title defence. There have been a lot of changes at the chasing clubs, no more than last season’s runners-up, Bayer Leverkusen. I just don’t think any of them will have the stamina to keep up. The club that might surprise a few is Eintracht Frankfurt, but again, I think they fall short of beating Bayern to the title.

Jack Meenan, Sub-editor

Head says Bayern Munich, but do not rule out Borussia Dortmund this season. Bayern haven’t gotten any better over the summer, and the squad has gotten smaller. Add the absence of Jamal Musiala for the first portion of the season, which could be impactful; then, the lack of a backup to Harry Kane could also become an issue if the Englishman becomes tired or picks up an injury. While Dortmund ended the season well under Niko Kovac, he has clearly turned them around, and despite what the higher-ups say, Kovac has the pedigree to lead Dortmund to a title. However, they still need to invest in a centre-back, some midfielders and become less reliant on Serhou Guirassy and Gregor Kobel.

Oscar O’Mara, Writer

While I think head coach Vincent Kompany is still learning and gaining experience, he is living a manager’s dream with this Bayern Munich squad. The wealth of skill and experience is beyond that of any league competitors. Unless Kompany manages to stifle their attack, it feels like another Bundesliga-winning season is inevitable.

Sam Carey, Writer

With Vincent Kompany having restored the Meisterschale to the Allianz Arena in his debut campaign, it’ll be very hard to bet against Bayern Munich for the upcoming season. Not only has the Belgian looked to improve upon an already very impressive Bayern outfit from last season; you could also argue that the Rekordmeister will be facing less competition with Xabi Alonso having traded the BayArena for the Bernabéu and Bayer Leverkusen undergoing a mammoth rebuild.

Harry Good, Writer

As nice as it would be to see someone else replicate Bayer Leverkusen’s heroics of 23/24, unless Bayern Munich’s small squad hits an injury crisis that curtails their season, they will likely take home another title.

Who will qualify for the Champions League?

DANIEL – This is somewhat a tough one to answer. The battle for the Champions League places is always an enthralling one. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are two certainties, Bayer Leverkusen should also finish in the top four despite losing Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Granit Xhaka and Lukas Hradecky. As for who finishes fourth, it’s difficult to call. Eintracht Frankfurt, despite losing Hugo Ekitike, have recruited well with Jonathan Burkardt and Ritsu Doan – their consistency should also see them finish in a UCL spot.

JAMIE – Bayern Munich is a given. Beyond that, I’ve gone for Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Dortmund, and Bayer Leverkusen. All three have had plenty of comings and goings this summer, but I still feel these are the strongest squads in the Bundesliga. I can see Frankfurt finishing second, whilst Leverkusen and Dortmund will be more evenly matched fighting between third and fourth, whilst trying to avoid the chasing pack.

JACK – Bayern Munich – naturally. Borussia Dortmund but this time it will be a lot more comfortable than last season. Bayer Leverkusen, who are still a good enough team on paper, and Erik ten Hag is a good enough manager to lead them into the top four. I expect Stuttgart will kick on and will now be a mainstay at the top table of German football. I may even go as far as saying that as long as Sebastian Hoeneß is in charge, the club could very well win the league.

OSCAR – It will be another tight race for fourth this season, and I see Freiburg scraping it past Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig, and Stuttgart. They have been one of the most consistent Bundesliga performers, finishing in the top 10 for six consecutive seasons. They have retained most of their squad, whilst enhancing it with three attacking players that should finally launch them into the final Champions League spot.

SAM – For me, three of the four Champions League spots are nailed on. After Bayern, Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt feel to be on a slightly higher level than the rest of the league with experienced managers at the helm. They are not in the same transitional periods you could attribute to the likes of RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen, and they have recruited well. Fourth place is hard to call, but I believe Freiburg have enough experience in their squad to go one further than they managed last season and clinch UCL qualification, despite the departure of Ritsu Dōan.

HARRY – Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt should be comfortably in the top four come the end of the season. BVB looked a different animal after Niko Kovac took over midway through last season, and Frankfurt’s strength in depth, coupled with some exciting new signings will see them through. DFB Pokal champions Stuttgart showed last weekend that they can mix it at the top once again and have enough about them to make it back to the Champions League.

Who will qualify for the Europa League and Europa Conference League?

DANIEL – It looks as though Stuttgart will retain Nico Woltemade after pricing Bayern Munich out of a move and with Sebastian Hoeneß, they will certainly be up there in the European places. There’s always one surprise – last season it was Freiburg and Mainz, but I fancy Wolfsburg to somehow find themselves in a European spot come May under Paul Simonis – who won the KNVB Cup with Go Ahead Eagles last season. They’ve strengthened in midfield with the signing of Vini Souza while Mohamed Amoura joins on a permanent basis. They’ve also signed Jesper Lindstrøm on loan while retaining key players. The Europa Conference League awaits VfL.

JAMIE – RB Leipzig and Freiburg will take the Europa League and Europa Conference League spots. Freiburg were fantastic last season and under Julian Schuster, I can’t see this changing. For Leipzig fans, this isn’t the news you probably want. If Xavi Simons does leave and they fail to sign Christopher Nkunku, I think they may fall short in big games this season. However, without the distraction of any European football this season, fourth spot is not far away.

JACK – RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt. Leipzig doesn’t have European football this season, but they will be an unknown quantity this season under Ole Werner, plus the departure and potential departure of Benjamin Seško, but most importantly, Xavi Simons, could hinder them going forward, as the majority of their attacking talent they have brought in are unproven at this level. While Frankfurt will have to juggle the Champions League, and this will likely affect their early-season Bundesliga form. On top of this, can Jonathan Burkardt and Ritsu Doan replace the output of Hugo Ekitiké and Omar Marmoush? I’m not so sure.

OSCAR – RB Leipzig and Stuttgart.

SAM –  It’s very hard to separate Leipzig and Leverkusen for these competitions, but Leverkusen may have the edge in that, despite having lost a lot of key players this summer, they have enough players at their core who were part of the unbeaten double-winning campaign and last season’s respectable second place finish that can continue to strive for success. Leipzig have a similarly talented side and have likewise gambled on relative unknowns in the transfer market, but may be hampered by their transition under Ole Werner, given their performances over recent years. Stuttgart will also definitely be contenders off the back of their DFB Cup glory, if they can keep a hold of Nick Woltemade.

HARRY – Leverkusen will suffer from losses of many key players over the summer, not to mention their revolutionary manager Xabi Alonso too. Europa League awaits for Erik ten Hag’s new look side. As for the Conference League, despite losing talisman Ritsu Doan over the summer, Freiburg still have the squad, team spirit and work ethic to continue to punch above their weight and make Europe again. I expect Gladbach to run them close however and be in with a shout come Spieltag 34.

Who will be relegated?

DANIEL – Heidenheim finished in the relegation playoff last season and with the loan signings of Arijon Ibrahimovic and Diant Ramaj, are the only Bundesliga team not to spend any money this season. Only two teams scored fewer goals than Heidenheim and I can’t see them beating the drop this campaign. Joining them would be Hoffenheim. Only two teams won fewer games than TSG last season and they’ve struggled to play expansive football under Christian Ilzer. For the relegation playoff, it’s a toss up between Union Berlin and St. Pauli, and I’m leaning towards the former.

JAMIE – The automatic relegation spots will be occupied by Heidenheim and Hoffenheim. Both just about survived last season and haven’t exactly addressed all of their issues. With two big clubs in Hamburg and Köln coming up and showing more intent, I can’t see beyond Heidenheim and Hoffenheim both being relegated. As for the relegation play-off spot, I think FC Köln could slip into it come the end of the campaign. However, I think they still have enough to survive regardless of who they play in the play-off. Alexander Blessin has done an excellent coaching job at St. Pauli and that should be just enough to see them finish above the playoff.

JACK – Heidenheim have not done enough in the transfer market to strengthen a team that scraped to safety last season. St. Pauli have lost some key players and struggled at the end of last season, while Union Berlin will probably drop into the relegation playoff; they have been flirting with the position for a while, and a drop into the playoff may give them a reality check.

OSCAR – There are probably six or seven teams with a chance of relegation this season, but FC Köln seem to sadistically enjoy their yo-yo status. Heidenheim and Hoffenheim were in dire form at the end of last season and were fortunate to have three teams worse than them. I can’t see that happening again. They both struggle to score goals and rain them in at the back. It could be an ugly season.

SAM – There are certainly a few sides that will have to battle it out for survival, but I believe Heidenheim are clear favourites to go down, after having narrowly avoided relegation last campaign via the play-offs. Newly-promoted HSV will be in the mix, along with FC Köln, but they may have too much quality to go straight back down, whereas the other Hamburg-based outfit – St. Pauli – could well be teetering on the verge of relegation. The Kiezkickers scored a league-lowest 28 goals last season and were the only side not to break the 30-goal margin.

HARRY – Heidenheim are back where they were two years ago when they first arrived in the Bundesliga, favourites for the drop and probably with good reason. The strength of the two promoted sides suggests a difficult season in store for Frank Schmidt’s team. Joining them going directly down will also be St. Pauli. Having done well to stay up in their first season after promotion, they have lost too many important players to repeat the feat. I expect the playoff spot to be taken up by Union Berlin, closely outrun by an extremely motivated Hamburg.

Who will be Player of the Season?

DANIEL – Harry Kane is the obvious choice here. He’s been Bayern Munich’s top scorer over the course of the past two years, but I think it will be his French teammate Michael Olise. He scored 12 goals and provided 18 assists in 34 league games under Vincent Kompany in his debut campaign for Bayern last season, and he’s only going to get better. With Jamal Musiala injured and Leroy Sané gone, he will be the main creative player in the final third, and he’s going to thrive.

JAMIE – Player of the season could very well be Jonathan Burkardt. Having just moved to Frankfurt from Mainz, I think he can really kick on and score plenty of goals. It’s the right move for him at this stage in his career, and I think he’ll do plenty to impress and also get into Germany’s squad for the upcoming World Cup.

JACK – If Dortmund win the league, it will be Serhou Guirassy. If Dortmund don’t win the league, but come close, it will be Guirassy. Keeping Guirassy fit will be key for die Schwarzgelben if they want to achieve anything meaningful this season. However, an alternative could be Michael Olise if Bayern do win the league, as in the absence of Jamal Musiala, the Frenchman has become a lot more important.

OSCAR – With Jamal Musiala out injured for the foreseeable future, Kompany will be more reliant on the creativity of French magician, Michael Olise. He is one of the best players in the world right now and will no doubt enjoy the added pressure – after all, he is used to it after spending a few years carrying Crystal Palace in the Premier League.

SAM – With Jamal Musiala set for an extended period on the sidelines for the majority of the Hinrunde, the slack is there to be taken up by another Bayern player. Last season, Michael Olise exploded onto the scene, finishing second in the Player of the Season rankings behind the departed Florian Wirtz. With the path now clear there’s every reason to believe the Frenchman can win it this campaign, however he’ll be facing stiff internal competition from new arrival Luis Díaz, who has already been making headlines for the Bavarians. Jobe Bellingham for Dortmund and Ritsu Dōan at Eintracht could prove outside contenders as well.

HARRY – It would be easy to pick Harry Kane here for obvious reasons, but I’m backing his teammate Michael Olise to excel to new heights this season.

Who will win the Golden Boot?

DANIEL – With Michael Olise and Luis Diaz, and then a fit again Jamal Musiala in the Ruckrunde, it’s impossible to see past Harry Kane for the Golden Boot. Clinical in front of goal, the Englishman will get plentiful chances handed to him on a plate. Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy will run Kane close again, but the Bayern hitman will top the charts.

JAMIE – It’s Harry Kane again. With Michael Olise, Luis Diaz, and Jamal Musiala (when fit) all alongside him, he’s going to have plenty of people to connect with and secure the golden boot once again.

JACK – The boring answer, and most likely one, is Harry Kane. So, to name a player that could break the Kane rule over the Törjägerkanon – Serhou Guirassy. The Dortmund striker carried on his form from his Stuttgart days last season, and his exploits in carrying Dortmund have put him well into the conversation as one of the best strikers in Europe.

OSCAR – As consistent as time, Bayern Munich will score goals this season. Last season, it was 99, their third-highest total in Bundesliga history, and Harry Kane scored 26 of them. After a slightly quieter pre-season, Kane should hit the ground running and will be eyeing up over 30 league goals this season. No-one else will come close.

SAM – Betting against Harry Kane would be sheer folly – but I’m going to do it anyway. In all likelihood it will be the Englishman who wins it, but with Dortmund’s strong end to the season and both a full transfer window and pre-season under Niko Kovač, things may have aligned for Serhou Guirassy to take the top spot. The Guinean fits Dortmund’s system perfectly and, with the added creativity of Jobe Bellingham, and a fully-fit Karim Adeyemi who seems back to his best, he may just get the added service he needs to pip Kane. Patrik Schick and Jonathan Burkardt will definitely be up there, but for me, this season’s Torjägerkanone has the feeling of a two-horse race.

HARRY – Top scorer of the previous two seasons with an outrageous return of goals, it will once again be Harry Kane. Who else?

GGFN | Daniel Pinder