2023-2024 Bundesliga Predictions
Bayern Munich Go For 12 Straight Titles
Last Season Featured Thrilling Title Race
One of the closest Bundesliga title races ever came down to the final day in the 2022-23 season. All Borussia Dortmund needed to do was win at home over Mainz to break Bayern Munich’s ten-title streak. However, Dortmund drew 2-2, and Jamal Musiala scored a winner for Bayern over Koln in the 89th minute. So, Bayern extended their record-breaking streak and are looking to improve further this Summer. With a busy Summer still ahead of us, we’ll take a look at some 2023-2024 Bundesliga predictions.
A Dynasty Like No Other
In the Bundesliga era, only two clubs have won three titles in a row. Borussia Monchengladbach did it from 1974-75 to 1976-77, and Bayern Munich have done it on four occasions. Currently, Bayern are 11-time defending champions. That means they’ve won more titles in the last decade than any other German club has ever won. The Bavarians’ dynasty appeared to be at risk of ending last season, but Bayern pulled off another title win.
It’s certainly telling that in a season where they finished on top of the German Bundesliga standings was seen as a disappointment. Bayern weren’t their usual dominant selves, and Julian Nagelsmann was fired in the middle of the season. Results were mixed under former Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel. Still, he’ll get a full offseason to impart his ideas on his players.
There’s no denying the talent that Bayern have on their roster. They’re seen as both Bundesliga and Champions League contenders and are adding to their side. Raphael Guerreiro and Konrad Laimer have already made the switch to Munich this Summer. Napoli title-winning defender Kim Min-jae is set to follow soon.
Getting another goalscorer is a priority for the Bavarians, as Robert Lewandowski’s departure in 2022 left a void behind. Sadio Mane was an exciting signing last Summer, but he failed to live up to the hype in his first year. Harry Kane is wanted by Bayern but convincing Tottenham to sell is another question altogether.
Jamal Musiala reached double-digit goals and assists for Bayern last season, something only Randal Kolo Muani also did in the Bundesliga. With players like Joshua Kimmich, Leroy Sane and Alphonso Davies, it’s no surprise that Bayern Munich are -400 Bundesliga favorites.
Can Dortmund Exorcize Their Demons?
2023-2024 Bundesliga predictions typically give Borussia Dortmund the second-best chance to win the league. They were painfully close to winning last season and missed what was a golden opportunity. Now, with Jude Bellingham and Raphael Guerreiro gone, Dortmund’s cycle is repeating itself. The club has had a ridiculous amount of talent pass through the Signal Iduna Park.
In the last decade alone, Robert Lewandowski, Erling Haaland, Bellingham, Ilkay Gundogan and Ousmane Dembele have all played for the club. Dortmund tend not to retain their top players for long as other clubs come swooping in. Still, with one of the best recruitment teams in football, Dortmund manage to stay competitive in the league.
With last year’s disappointment still fresh, Borussia Dortmund display +500 odds to win the Bundesliga. They’ve finished second to Bayern in four of the last five seasons and were the last non-Bayern team to win the German league.
Dortmund hopes that Sebastien Haller emerges as a key figure this season. The Ivory Coast international underwent chemotherapy before the 2022-23 season but still returned and scored nine Bundesliga goals. Dortmund are also set in defense, with the center back pairing of Niklas Sule and Niko Schlotterbeck.
Top Four Favorites
It’s safe to say that RB Leipzig have established themselves as one of Germany’s top clubs. The two-time defending DFB-Pokal winners haven’t yet won a Bundesliga trophy but have finished in the top four in each of the last five seasons. They’ve also lost some key players this Summer and more could follow.
Christopher Nkunku, who was one of the Bundesliga’s most dynamic players, left for Chelsea. Meanwhile, Dominik Szoboszlai is off to Liverpool and Konrad Laimer is in Bavaria with Bayern Munich. Defender Josko Gvardiol is a priority target for Manchester City, but it remains to be seen whether a transfer will be completed this Summer.
Leipzig have also added the likes of Christoph Baumgartner, Benjamin Sesko and Fabio Carvalho. They’re +1600 dark horses to win their first Bundesliga title this season.
Bayer Leverkusen made significant strides toward the end of last season under Xabi Alonso. They’ve also been aggressive in their transfer strategy this Summer and looked to have improved. They’ve added Granit Xhaka and Jonas Hofmann to their midfield and Alex Grimaldo at left back.
Leverkusen are a team to be excited about with players like Florian Wirtz, Moussa Diaby and Jeremie Frimpong. If Leverkusen can hold on to the latter two, they’ve got a good chance to surprise quite a few people this season. Bayer enter the season at +5000 odds to win the Bundesliga title.
Notable Longshots
No other teams in the Bundesliga have shorter than +10000 odds to win the league this season. 2023-2024 Bundesliga predictions often identify teams like SC Freiburg, Union Berlin, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Monchengladbach as top four contenders but not serious title challengers.
Note that the German Bundesliga schedule is only 34 games per team, so anything is possible. Union Berlin did make the top four for the first time in the 2022-23 season. With the Champions League to contend with, Union are +10000 longshots to win their first Bundesliga crown. Interestingly, Union were in the title race for quite some time last season.
Eintracht Frankfurt are also on +10000 odds. Europa League-winning coach Oliver Glasner departed the club at the end of the 2022-23 season. Now Julian Nagelsmann’s former top assistant at Bayern Munich, Dino Toppmoller has taken over.
Along with winning the Europa League a couple of seasons ago, Frankfurt reached the 2023 DFB-Pokal final. Consistency has been a problem for them and that may continue if the rumors are true and key forward Randal Kolo Muani leaves the club.
SC Freiburg once again narrowly missed out on the Champions League. Freiburg’s problem is a lack of consistent goalscoring. Vincenzo Grifo has been their main attacking outlet for some time but Freiburg have signed Junior Adamu from RB Salzburg to add another dimension to their side.
Freiburg, like Borussia Monchengladbach, are priced at +15000 odds to win the Bundesliga. Monchengladbach have suffered through three straight highly disappointing seasons. In 2021-22 and 2022-23 they finished in tenth place and finished in eighth in 2020-21.
Gerry Seaone will have to get creative after losing Marcus Thuram and Jonas Hofmann. Thuram was Gladbach’s top scorer in 2022-23 and Hofmann the season before.
No other Bundesliga team has shorter than +20000 odds to win the league. Wolfsburg and Hoffenehim are next on the list, at +25000 each. A $10 outright bet on Bundesliga new boys Heidenheim and Darmstadt would return a whopping $20,000 but relegation figures to be a much bigger concern for both.
Follow us on Twitter
