Without a doubt last season, Bayern Munich ended the campaign as the best football team in the European game. Not only did they win the Bundesliga for the eighth straight campaign, but the Bavarians also won the Champions League.
The reigning German champions will kick-off their Bundesliga title defence on Friday, as the Bavarians welcome Schalke to the Allianz Arena. If you fancy a bet on Bayern Munich vs Schalke, then don’t forget to visit our betting page for the bookmakers we recommend for your bet.
A relatively quiet window so far in Germany
The transfer window has been relatively quiet for the top German clubs. Bayern only big-name signing was winger Leroy Sane, who arrived for a big fee for Manchester City.
The two teams most likely to come close to Bayern this season in the Bundesliga are Dortmund and Rb Leipzig. Looking at their deals so far in the window, their senior squads do not look majorly stronger than in season 2020/21.
Dortmund have added Belgium full-back, Thomas Meunier, from PSG, while youngster Jude Bellingham came in from Birmingham and Reinier joined on a season long loan spell from Real Madrid. While both youngsters are highly-rated, they are just 17 and 18 years of age. On paper, Lucien Favre’s squad has managed to heavily strengthen his squad.
RB Leipzig has lost star striker Timo Werner to Chelsea. Patrick Schick has returned to Roma after a loan spell, before joining Bayer Leverkusen. South Korean forward Hwang Hee-Chan has joined from Salzburg. Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen should also be in there competing for the Champions League spots. However, neither look strong enough to mount a realistic title this season.
Bayern are the only ones that can beat Bayern
Heading into the new Bundesliga campaign there seems to be very little that has changed from last season. The only difference this season is that there seems to be complete faith in head coach Hansi Flick. The same could not have been said about former head coach Niko Kovac at the beginning of last season.
Bayern’s biggest threat to their Bundesliga crown is potential complacency. The fact that they won 19 of their last 20 league games last season shows just how much better the Bavarians were than their rivals in the top-flight. Flick installed a style that the players seem to have heavily bought into.
The one weakness for the reigning German champions is possibly that they do have great strength-in-depth. There is also speculation that more players will leave the Bavarian club before the transfer window shuts.
Bayern likely to see off the challenge of Dortmund
Dortmund have been Bayern’s most frequent challengers. However, BVB were just not consistent enough, as is often the case with teams that have a lot of younger players.
The likes of Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho are two of the brightest and most exciting young players in the world game. BVB were exciting to watch, but they often struggled to get the better of some of the smaller teams in the German top-flight. That looks unlikely to change this season.
It would be a major surprise if Bayern Munich did not see off the challenge of Dortmund this season. Whatever happens in the 2020/21 Bundesliga season, the German top-flight as always promises to be highly exciting.
Will Bayern Munich seal a ninth straight Bundesliga title?
