Bundesliga 2025/26 Season: From Underdogs to ÜBermenschen: The Stories That Will Define the Season | OneFootball

The 2025/26 Bundesliga season is just around the corner. It was a successful first season in charge of Bayern Munich for Vincent Kompany, who put the German giants back on top following Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten domestic campaign in 2023/24. Can anyone stop a new era of Bayern Munich dominance? Welcome to the Bundesliga preview.

The season starts with a very exciting game as defending champions Bayern Munich host RB Leipzig at Allianz Arena on Friday, 22 August 2025, at 6:30 PM GMT. You can check the full Bundesliga Gameweek 1 schedule here.

What Makes Bayern Munich Bundesliga Title Favourites?

Their squad strength and financial pull compared to the rest are quite simply far superior to the rest. By far the biggest club in Germany and one of the biggest clubs in Europe and the world, plus they also have one of the best young coaches in Vincent Kompany.

They’ve lost Thomas Muller, a tremendous loyal servant to the club for all his life. They’ve also lost Kingsley Coman, who joined Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia. But like champions do, they have strengthened. Adding experienced players in Jonathan Tah and Luis Díaz as well as quality young potential in Tom Bischof highlights a balance and ambition to dominate for now and also in the future too. Snatching Tah away from a possible title contender is a big statement of intent.

Vincent Kompany’s philosophy is simple on the eye. Possession heavy with the ball, super aggressive and proactive without it. Against most sides in Germany, this is essentially suffocating opponents with superior technical and physical qualities. This approach out of possession requires robust defenders who have recovery pace in case they get caught in behind.

Because Bayern play so aggressively, it also forces high turnovers, which then result in a number of goals. Especially against weaker sides in the Bundesliga, it could lead to bruising results. However, against the better sides, Bayern are also quite vulnerable at the back because they have such an aggressive high line which invites balls in behind.

Despite that vulnerability, though, the attacking quality they have with the likes of Díaz, Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala (when he returns from injury), Tom Bischof, Michael Olise, and Serge Gnabry is simply far too good not to win the title. They can concede 4 and still win 5-4; that’s how good they are going forward.

SINSHEIM, GERMANY – MAY 17: Serge Gnabry and team mates of Bayern Munich celebrate following the Bundesliga match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and FC Bayern München at PreZero-Arena on May 17, 2025 in Sinsheim, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Who Are the European Battlers?

From 2nd down to 9th-10th is very competitive for all the European spots. These are the sides that are in that battle:

Borussia Dortmund – They just about got into the top 4 after a resurgence towards the back end of last season under Niko Kovac (8 games, 7W 1D). The first half of last season was far too inconsistent under Nuri Sahin and by January they were in mid-table. That’s way below their standards and this season they’ll hope to get off to a far better start.

There may be some concern with their summer business so far, however. They’ve only added 2 major first-team additions: Jobe Bellingham from Sunderland and Daniel Svensson from FC Nordsjælland. If they want to finish in the top 4, or even possibly find a way to challenge Bayern Munich for the Bundesliga, they must add more quality.

Bayer Leverkusen – Bundesliga champions in 2023/24, runners-up in 2024/25. Now they enter a new era under a new coach. Xabi Alonso achieved great success, which has seen him earn the Real Madrid job. His replacement? Erik ten Hag. The Dutch coach saw his reputation massively destroyed following a disastrous reign in charge of Manchester United. He’ll be tasked with stamping his blueprint on what will be his Leverkusen team.

A big worry heading into this season is the number of key players they’ve lost. Whilst they secured a large sum for star player Florian Wirtz, who joined Liverpool, they’ve also lost key creator Jeremie Frimpong as well as key leader Granit Xhaka. The latter in particular – his leadership skills are priceless and his departure is a massive blow. Lukaš Hrádecký departed for AS Monaco, whilst Matěj Kovář left on loan to PSV. Jonathan Tah also left to join Bayern Munich on a free transfer.

Mark Flekken came in as the new no. 1 from Brentford, whilst Leverkusen also added Ernest Poku, Malik Tillman, and Jarell Quansah from Liverpool, as well as youngsters Axel Tape and Christian Kofane. Whilst a couple of those players are good additions, considering what they’ve already lost this summer, that isn’t enough. They need more experience and quality.

Eintracht Frankfurt – A strong side under a strong coach. Last season under Dino Topmöller, they were able to finish 3rd in the Bundesliga, which secured them Champions League football.

They’re an exciting attacking team that plays with dynamic and aggressive wide centre backs as part of a back 3. Arthur Theate in particular is someone that possesses great technical qualities with his left foot and he has a very good long throw as well, a weapon Eintracht Frankfurt use quite often. A player to watch closely this season is Ansgar Knauff. He had his best season for goal contributions last season in all competitions (6 goals and 7 assists). He’s a clever player who operates well in pockets of space near the box.

They haven’t made too many additions so far this summer but the additions of Michael Zetterer from Werder Bremen and Ritsu Doan from SC Freiburg are significant. Both additions will be important at either end of the pitch.

RB Leipzig – They have a lot to prove this season after last season’s disappointing 7th-place finish. Under Ole Werner, they have a young and exciting coach who will want to bring back that excitement and dynamism we saw so often during the Julian Nagelsmann era.

The signing of Johan Bakayoko highlights the ideas of excitement and dynamism. His attributes are built for producing moments of excitement through his ability to get in behind with quick speed as well as fantastic technical quality with the ball, where he can produce something out of nothing.

Losing Benjamin Šeško to Manchester United is a blow because he’s one of the key sources of their goals. There are also rumours of a possible Xavi Simons departure to Chelsea, another key player and key creator for chances. But with Loïs Openda as well as new signing Johan Bakayoko, they should have enough to make a push to get back into the Champions League spots.

Which Side Has the Biggest Point to Prove?

TSG Hoffenheim were so hugely disappointing last season. Following a 7th-place finish in 2023/24, there were some foundations to build on. But last season was totally disastrous for them, losing 5 of their first 10 Bundesliga games, which ultimately cost Pellegrino Matarazzo his job. Christian Ilzer came in from Sturm Graz and whilst things didn’t improve instantly, gradually his philosophy was becoming evident towards the back end of last season.

Adding players like Koki Machida from Union Saint-Gilloise, Wouter Burger from Stoke City and Vladimir Coufal on a free transfer should help with the physicality and intensity required in the Bundesliga.

The Bundesliga Season Surprise Package

SC Freiburg had a great season in 2024/25 under young coach Julian Schuster. Even though they narrowly missed out on Champions League football by 2 points, they finished 5th. Freiburg played an aggressive and fairly proactive style which proved really effective throughout the season.

Even though Ritsu Doan and Kilian Sildillia departed, they still have a good squad that are capable of challenging for the Champions League again and because of the way they play under Schuster, Freiburg will be an eye-catching team this season.

FC Heidenheim – They were absolutely fantastic in 2023/24 by securing European football but last season, despite the challenge of juggling the Thursday-Sunday schedule, they really struggled in the Bundesliga. If their issues from last season continue and without the correct additions, they could find themselves in a relegation battle.

Union Berlin – They had a great few seasons in the Bundesliga, where everything just seemed to be going right for them, which included three consecutive seasons of European football. But that momentum has changed in the last two seasons, where they’ve been in relegation battles. Their recruitment doesn’t seem convincing either and the squad looks weak. The German capital club looks set to be in massive trouble this season.

St Pauli – They have really punched above their weight the last couple of seasons. Firstly, securing promotion under Fabian Hürzeler in 2023/24 as Bundesliga 2 Champions. Secondly, avoiding relegation last season under current Head Coach Alexander Blessin. They have done remarkably well. However, the kind of players recruited aren’t good enough for the Bundesliga level. Punching above your weight consistently is a recipe for disaster; similar to what happened to Union Berlin, St Pauli could be in massive trouble.