MUNICH, GERMANY – MAY 14: The players of FC Bayern Muenchen celebrate with the Meisterschale after the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and Hannover 96 at Allianz Arena on May 14, 2016 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images For MAN)

Bayern go for a fifth straight Bundesliga title, Dortmund look to play spoiler

This weekend brings about the return of the German Bundesliga. Bayern Munich will attempt to continue their dominance, while Dortmund tries to improve upon last season’s resurgence under Thomas Tuchel and spoil the record champions party. Elsewhere in Germany, Schalke 04, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen look set to battle for the top four. Freiburg returns to the top-flight, and controversial newcomer RasenBallsport Leipzig plans on ruffling a few feathers.

Bayern Munich

Last season, Bayern Munich became the first team in Bundesliga history to win four consecutive titles. Now with Carlo Ancelotti taking over for Pep Guardiola and new arrivals Mats Hummels and Renato Sanches, Bayern seem well prepared to win a fifth consecutive championship. Bayern will say their main goal is to win the league, but as has been the case in recent seasons, the more silverware the better. Bayern still has the strongest team on paper and have managed to retain the majority of their squad. Notable departures are, of course, Mario Götze, as well as Mehdi Benatia and Sebastian Rode. Two of the three have gone to their biggest rival.

Borussia Dortmund

It’s easy to forget since they lost the league, but last season Borrusia Dortmund had one of the best seasons in history. Thomas Tuchel turned their fortunes around after failing to reach the Champions League the season prior. Heading into the 2016-17 campaign a lot has changed at Dortmund. Key contributors such as Hummels, İlkay Gündoğan, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have all left the club. Some teams would take a step back with that kind of exodus, but Dortmund only seems to have gotten younger, faster and more skilled. The teams leading goal scorer a year ago, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, is still around and he’s linking up with not only Marco Reus but also Andre Schürrle and Mario Götze.  Julian Weigl who had a breakout year last year is a year older and still a dynamic presence in midfield. Dortmund even managed to find another creative centerback that can replace Hummels in Marc Bartra. Ousmane Dembélé might be the most impressive signing as the 19-year-old Frenchman has looked terrific in pre-season. Dortmund are going to hope all these new arrivals come good, and if they do they could give Bayern a real run for their money.

ST GALLEN, SWITZERLAND - JULY 25:  Marco Reus of Dortmund (R) celebrates his team's second goal with team mate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during the friendly match between Juventus and Borussia Dortmund on July 25, 2015 in St Gallen, Switzerland.  (Photo by Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

ST GALLEN, SWITZERLAND – JULY 25: Marco Reus of Dortmund (R) celebrates his team’s second goal with team mate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during the friendly match between Juventus and Borussia Dortmund on July 25, 2015 in St Gallen, Switzerland. (Photo by Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

The Outsiders

Bayern and Dortmund are the class of the league and should finish one and two, but the rest of the league is competitive. The race for the last two Champions League positions could be a multi-horse race. The usual suspects will be there. Schalke 04 might have lost Leroy Sane to Manchester City and Joël Matip to Liverpool but they still boast a strong lineup. Max Meyer, fresh off a strong performance at the Olympics could keep them hovering at the top of the table. Schalke also has a new manager. Markus Weinzierl was brought over after a very successful spell in charge of Augsburg. Weinzierl is a promising coach and will be counted on to get Schalke back into the top four after the club finished fifth last season.

ROME, ITALY - NOVEMBER 04:  Javier Hernandez of Bayer 04 Leverkusen celebrates after scoring the team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League Group E match between AS Roma and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Olimpico Stadium on November 4, 2015 in Rome, Italy.  (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

ROME, ITALY – NOVEMBER 04: Javier Hernandez of Bayer 04 Leverkusen celebrates after scoring the team’s second goal during the UEFA Champions League Group E match between AS Roma and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Olimpico Stadium on November 4, 2015 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

Bayer Leverkusen is another contender for a top four place. They finished 3rd last season, largely in thanks to a tremendous season from Javier Hernandez. The Mexican international will return and will now get to play up top with Kevin Volland who was recently purchased from TSG Hoffenheim. Volland is a rising star in Germany who should form an effective strike force with Hernandez and Stefan Kießling.

The other contender for a Champions League place will likely be Borussia Mönchengladbach. Gladbach brought Christoph Kramer back to the club after he spent last season with Leverkusen. Kramer’s return covers up slightly for the loss of  Granit Xhaka who went to Arsenal. Not reaching the top four will likely be considered a failure for second-year coach André Schubert. Despite an injury crisis last season they managed to finish fourth, a similar result will be expected by the supporters.

The Field

Hertha Berlin, one of last season’s surprises will try to continue to improve. They just narrowly missed out on the top four and managed to retain a good chunk of their squad. Vedad Ibisevic was brought in from Stuttgart as well to bolster their attack, he had 10 goals for the relegated Stuttgart last campaign.

One team that struggled last season was Wolfsburg. Dieter Hecking’s team will want to do better than last season’s eight place finish. However, Wolfsburg had a bad summer. Out the door went players like Andre Schürrle, Max Kruse, Naldo, and Dante, leaving the club with a rather depleted lineup. Julian Draxler has been trying to leave the club as well. The war of words between the club and player has been an unpleasant distraction.  Apart from the additions of Mario Gomez and Jakub Blaszczykowski, neither of which are terrific signings, most of Wolfsburg’s summer business has been bringing in youth. Wolfsburg’s board room might know it’s time to start building for the future.

About two hours north of Wolfsburg is Hamburg, and the Bundesliga dinosaurs have not been very threatening in years past. That could be set to change, however. Hamburg has had an excellent summer transfer window. Bringing over Filip Kostic from Stuttgart and Croation midfielder Alen Halilovic were terrific pieces of business. Both players should help Hamburg stay well clear of the relegation battle. Manager Bruno Labbadia has also shown to be a very capable trainer, and with a fresh group of young talent, he could do well this season.

The Biggest story in the Bundesliga this season might be the arrival of RasenBallsport Leipzig or RB Leipzig for short. Just be sure not to call them Red Bull Leipzig. The controversial side is the first team from the former East Germany to compete in the top flight since Energie Cottbus in 2009. Apart from the backlash the club has experienced on their rise to the Bundesliga, there are the makings of a competitive side here. Ralph Hasenhüttl came over as coach from Ingolstadt and has poached some young talent from around the region. Timo Werner was purchased from Stuttgart and Naby Keïta from sister club RB Salzburg. There is a lot to look forward to for Leipzig, especially if Red Bull continues to pump money into the club.

Week 1

Schedule (all times Eastern)*

Friday

Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen, 2:30pm, FS1

Saturday

Borussia Dortmund vs Mainz 05, 9:30am, FS2
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Schalke 04, 9:30am, Fox Deportes
Hamburg SV vs Ingolstadt, 9:30am, Fox Soccer Plus
Augsburg vs Wolfsburg, 9:30am
1. FC Köln vs Darmstadt, 9:30am
Borussia Mönchengladbach vs Bayer Leverkusen, 12:30pm, FOX

Sunday

Hertha Berlin vs Freiburg, 9:30am, FS1
Hoffenheim vs RB Leipzig, 11:30am

*-All matches also available to be streamed via the Fox Soccer 2 Go service.

About Harrison Prolic

Northern Illinois graduate with a degree in Journalism. Full-time page designer in Madison, Wisconsin. Part time follower of all things German soccer. I tweet about the Bundesliga and plenty of other sports @hprolic.

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