Change was in the air in Germany in 2023/24 with Bayer Leverkusen assembling a season which will go down in history – going unbeaten to complete the league and cup double and only missing out on an invincible season by defeat to Atalanta in the Europa League Final in Dublin.
Harry Kane’s debut season at Bayern Munich saw a lot of goals, but no trophies and a third-placed finish, while Dortmund’s dream run to the Champions League Final saw them well off the pace in the Bundesliga.
There are new faces at some of Germany’s biggest clubs, both on and off the pitch, while cult club St Pauli are back in the top-flight as Hamburg’s premier side and are joined by Holstein Kiel after 60 years in the wilderness.
But who is going to win the league in 2024/25, who will secure those five Champions League spots and who will be dropping down to Bundesliga 2? Let’s take a look, shall we?
All odds are from Bet365 and were correct at the time of writing on Tuesday, August 13.
📰 Table Of Contents
Bundesliga Winner
Bayern Munich – 1/2
Vincent Kompany has replaced Thomas Tuchel at the helm and it will be the first season Munich go into a season not being the defending champions since 2012.
Not only did they lose their crown to Bayer Leverkusen last season but they actually slipped to third behind Stuttgart in the final reckoning, losing an incredible eight of their 34 games to finish 18 points adrift.
Despite all that, they are still firm favourites and Kompany has raided the Premier League for Joao Palinha and Michael Olise from Fulham and Crystal Palace respectively and will be under immediate pressure to secure Bundesliga title number 34.
Back to scoring goals! 𝐇𝐊𝟗 is back🫡#FCBayern #MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/y3jQHNjqIm
— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) August 13, 2024
Bayer Leverkusen – 5/2
Xabi Alonso’s men created history last season with an unbeaten season to land their first ever league title. Neverkusen, no more.
The 42-year-old was the hottest property on the managerial market this summer – not that he spent long there. The Spaniard turned down the advances of Bayern and Liverpool to remain in charge for a second full season, but despite keeping the nucleus of the squad together, can he possibly follow the success of last term? This looks decent value if you think they can.
Borussia Dortmund – 10/1
Dortmund might have made the Champions League Final at Wembley in June, but domestically they were miles off it, finishing fifth a whopping 27 points behind Leverkusen.
Edin Terzic has been replaced by Nuri Sahin and though Dortmund begin life after Mats Hummels and Marco Reus, they have picked up Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy, whose 28 goals were second only to Harry Kane’s 36, as they seek to make it a three-horse race.
Champions League qualification
Bayern Munich – 1/80
Bayern have made the Group stage of the Champions League every year since 2008 – it’s unthinkable that they won’t be there again next season. You won’t get rich, mind…
Just a happy man at work. 😍 pic.twitter.com/fE0TahS1oL
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) August 13, 2024
Bayer Leverkusen – 1/6
Leverkusen will be embarking on their 10th Champions League campaign since they lost the 2002 final against Real Madrid. They have not made a quarter-final since, but don’t expect their focus on Europe to prevent them getting back there in 12 months time.
Borussia Dortmund – 4/9
This will be Dortmund’s ninth consecutive Champions League campaign and 13th out of 14 seasons. They secured it despite finishing 5th as their run to the Final helped ensure Germany’s co-efficient was high enough to secure an extra spot. They likely won’t need that cushion next term though.
RB Leipzig – 4/7
Leipzig will be in the Champions League for the sixth straight season this term, and have only failed to reach the knockout stages once. Although Marco Rose’s side had a below-par domestic campaign which saw them win only 19 games, they’ll be tough to keep out.
Man with the plan 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/szsxWGp6bi
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) August 2, 2024
Relegation
Holstein Kiel – 11/10
Newly-promoted as runners-up to St Pauli in Bundesliga 2 – this is the first top-flight campaign in 60 years. They’ll be hoping it’s not their last, but they are favourites to go straight back down.
St Pauli – 13/8
Another side back in the top-flight after a lengthy absence – in this case 13 years. They will of course be without Fabian Hurzeler who left to take over at Brighton this summer, but former Genoa boss Alexander Blessin will seek to continue their upward trajectory.
Heidenheim – 9/4
The newly promoted side lost only 12 matches last term in their maiden season in the top tier and Frank Schmidt even managed to sneak them into Europe on goal difference on the final day of the season to end a fairytale campaign. Will the Europa Conference League prove a distraction and will second season syndrome strike?
Bochum – 5/2
Vfl finished third bottom on goal difference last season, mainly due to their inability to turn draws into wins. They scored plenty but had the second worse defence in the division. They managed to survive after overturning a 3-0 deficit against Fortuna Dusseldorf in the relegation/promotion play-off before prevailing on penalties.
Let’s get it started!#fcsp pic.twitter.com/I7ypEcQX6t
— FC St. Pauli (@fcstpauli) July 15, 2024
