Previewing all 18 Bundesliga teams for 22/23
Are the top flight sides set to look better or worse in 2022/23?
The 1. Bundesliga is back! After all the excitement of Euro 2022 and the first round of the DFB-Pokal, a new season begins on Friday and that means, after just a couple of posts this season, I’m back more regularly too.
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For now, how about a look at each of the 18 clubs set to begin their Bundesliga campaigns?
A quick look through the Bundesliga and I think the middle of the table is going to be outrageously tight this season. The top four or five is likely to consist of the same names we usually see but anyone below that could easily be play for either Europe or survival come April and May.
That makes predictions a fool’s game. Well, more fool me.
1. FC Köln
2021/22: 7th
I’ve wanted to write about Köln and Steffen Baumgart for ages. They were enjoyable to watch last season, lining up with a diamond, playing direct football, and basically just throwing everything at their opponents: only two teams (Bayern and Gladbach) took more shots in 2021/22 and nobody, not even Bayern, made more final third pressures. It paid off but if you throw that many punches, you’re also going to get hit at times.
They avoided that a lot last season but have lost ball-winner extraordinaire Salih Özcan to Dortmund and now have to juggle the Bundesliga with European football. The first issue can be handled well enough, Ellyes Skhiri was already at the club and suited the role perfectly when he played last season. The second issue is a big problem, especially with 34-year-old Anthony Modeste scoring 20 of their Bundesliga goals last season (nobody else netted more than five) and playing more minutes than anyone else in the squad.
Strikers Steffen Tigges and Sargis Adamyan are unlikely to chip in with too many and juggling European football with a settled side and an intense style of play is going to be a huge test.
Predictions: They’re still exciting but crash back down to Earth and end up around the 40-point mark
Good summer? They have not added nearly enough players to play in an extra competition
Look out for … the team’s style, just because it’s such an interesting mix of pressing high and playing incredibly ambitiously but with the long balls and crossing you’d usually associate with defensive football
1. FSV Mainz
2021/22: 8th
For a team that looks really good but doesn’t have a big squad, 8th is a great place to finish when you want to continue on an upward trajectory. Last season was truly impressive but Mainz now enter the new campaign without the added burden of squeezing European games into the calendar.
They are also another side I’ve wanted to give more attention to because of a really interesting mix of styles. Only RB Leipzig attempted fewer long passes last season yet just three teams had a lower pass completion. Mainz are direct, looking for their front two whenever they can, but do it without going high and long. Off the ball they are aggressive but positionally disciplined and it is the foundation for their superb form since Bo Svensson took over: in his 54 Bundesliga matchdays Mainz have conceded just 70 goals, better than any side other than Bayern, RB Leipzig, Union Berlin in that time.
This summer has seen them lose two regulars in defence but the system is the king defensively, creative midfielder Angelo Fulgini is a really fun signing, and Jonathan Burkardt has shown the talent to take his game to another level.
Predictions: 7th and a Germany cap for Burkardt
Good summer? They’ve lost two key players but don’t really look much weaker, which feels very impressive
Look out for … Svensson. Because he could go onto bigger things but also because he got seven yellow cards last season.
Bayer Leverkusen
2021/22: 3rd
Leverkusen were one of the success stories of last season, their first under Gerardo Seoane. They’re interesting in that they don’t press high but concentrate on defending their own box in numbers. It works well, allowing them to use their massive counter-attacking strengths: Leverkusen had the best xG per shot last season as well as the lowest xG per shot conceded.
Florian Wirtz could be out until 2023 and that’s a major blow, it’s the reason I can’t see them getting close enough if Bayern (and Dortmund) leave the door ajar. Wirtz managed a goal or assist every 109 minutes last season.
He has signed a new deal, as has Patrik Schick, and that’s massive news. Now the big question is how consistently the team can deliver without Wirtz and whether Schick’s incredible 2021/22 can be replicated.
Predictions: Top four and Diaby to go to one of Europe's top clubs next summer
Good summer? Definitely, they’ve kept all their key players and Adam Hložek is an exciting signing
Look out for … if the excellent Paulinho can take Wirtz’s place or if it, for some reason, goes to Sardar Azmoun instead
Bayern Munich
2021/22: 1st
Let’s stop talking about how to replace Robert Lewandowski’s goals for a second and consider how much better Bayern can get defensively. From the start of 2011/12 to the end of 2016/17, they conceded an average of 20 goals per season in the league. That average has taken a huge jump to 34.6 goals conceded per season since then.
It’s an issue Nagelsmann will look to fix now that Lewandowski is gone and he can entirely form this team in the way he wants. Defensively Bayern have added Noussair Mazraoui from Ajax at right-back, a problem position in recent seasons, and spent a club record fee on Matthijs de Ligt.
With defensive improvements to be expected and Sadio Mané added to Serge Gnabry, Thomas Müller, Leroy Sané and Kingsley Coman, don’t expect Bayern to look worse. Plus Alphonso Davies missed a chunk of last season through injury and the brillant Jamal Musiala will surely make more than the 12 Bundesliga starts he managed last time out.
Prediction: 1st and Mané to score 25+ league goals
Good summer? Yes, they’ve added quality and depth
Look out for … what impact 17-year-old Mathys Tel can have after his move, Nagelsmann has already called for him to score 10+
Borussia Dortmund
2021/22: 2nd
A big rebuild has been undertaken but these things take time and Dortmund still look a little bit light on quality on the ball in midfield (unless Mo Dahoud is a regular) and defensive quality at fullback.
Oh, and there’s the issue of replacing Erling Haaland, especially after the horrible news about Sébastien Haller. Dortmund fans should still be excited, with some excellent signings adding all-round quality at centre-back (Süle, Schlotterbeck), ball-winning in midfield (Özcan) and threat in behind (Adeyemi) on top of all the quality that already existed in the squad.
Like Bayern, the exit of a star striker can largely be offset by defensive improvement. Talent alone should be enough to win most games but controlling matches proved tricky last season and that is the big thing new (ex-) boss Edin Terzić needs to solve.
Prediction: 2nd, for the seventh times in eleven years, and Jude Bellingham to sign a new deal with a release clause
Good summer? As good as anyone could have hoped
Look out for … how much better Donyell Malen is in his second season
Borussia Mönchengladbach
2021/22: 10th
I thought Gladbach would have a much tougher summer than the one they’ve had so far. Yann Sommer, Alassane Pléa, Marcus Thuram are all still around for now. So are Florian Neuhaus and Jonas Hofmann, and Kouadio Koné was bags of fun as an all-round midfielder last season. That gives new manager Daniel Farke a lot to work with.
Matthias Ginter and Breel Embolo may be gone but Gladbach have a progressive new boss who has his sides play really attractive football.
Maybe there are some sales before the end of the month and Farke’s version of total football gets swallowed up by Europe’s most pressing-obsessed league.
Or maybe Gladbach click and have a great season. Everything in between feels possible right now and they should be one of the stories to keep an eye on after two very disappointing seasons.
Prediction: OK, no fence-sitting, it’s back to Europe for Gladbach and a Kouadio Koné season that sees Dortmund go for him if Bellingham is sold next summer
Good summer? They have kept more important players than I’d expected but could lose some of them for free in a year - is that good or not?
Look out for … teenage winger and Luxembourg international Yvandro Borges Sanches making a name for himself
Eintracht Frankfurt
2021/22: 11th
Frankfurt didn’t really get going early last season, then stopped caring about the league to focus on the Europa League when they did hit their stride.
From winning the DFB-Pokal, going far in Europe, having to replace their entire attack more than once, and then winning the Europa League having seen another manager walk out for another club (this time of similar stature) and fail, I’d wager nobody has had more fun than Frankfurt fans in recent seasons. And now they get the Champions League.
Oliver Glasner is a fantastic coach and nobody will want to face them in Europe after some of last season’s results. The signing of Mario Götze is really interesting and I personally believe he could be fantastic as he returns to Germany with a point to prove.
Prediction: Bundesliga? Between fourth and seventh. And watch them get out of the Champions League group stage too.
Good summer? Lucas Alario and Mario Götze are both really nice signings and they’ve kept Filip Kostić for now
Look out for … whether or not they can put enough of a run together to make top four.
FC Augsburg
2021/22: 14th
Little has changed in terms of personnel, the headline news being the striker swap Michael Gregoritsch for Ermedin Demirović, and that should be a concern. Gregoritsch scored nine Bundesliga goals last season at a really impressive 0.58 per 90. The next best return in the squad from anyone who played significant minutes was Florian Niederlechner’s 0.39 goals per 90 and, past that, it’s hard to see where goals are coming from.
A more ambitious coach will help: Enrico Maaßen arrives from coaching Dortmund’s U23 team in the third tier and he is passionate about offensive football. But he will have to squeeze every last drop out of a really weak looking squad to get them anywhere other than a relegation battle.
Prediction: Well, a relegation scrap but with more exciting football than recent seasons
Good summer? They have lost their best goalscorer, swapping him for someone who is probably a similar level, and done nothing else of note
Look out for … whether €15m American teenager Ricardo Pepi can do anything of note after a very underwhelming first few months in the Bundesliga
Hertha BSC
2021/22: 16th
Hertha were awful last season, haven’t done much this summer, are already out of the Pokal, and I don’t really believe in Sandro Schwarz as new head coach based on his work at Mainz.
Last season saw the capital club complete the fewest passes into final third in the league and concede the most. It doesn’t really feel like they’re good enough in any area and, with two strong teams (on paper) promoted, it’s hard to imagine them having a happier season this time around.
Filip Uremović arrives in defence from Rubin Kazan and Wilfried Kanga comes in having scored a respectable twelve goals in the Swiss Super League last season (and three in two this season) to improve the attack. Both signings better be brilliant.
Prediction: Misery
Good summer? They haven’t done nearly enough after scraping survival last season
Look out for … former ultra turned president Kay Bernstein’s public appearances, he’s likely to be unlike anyone else who has ever held that particular role at a top flight club
RB Leipzig
2021/22: 4th
What’s the opposite of 'Red Bull football’? Yeah, so that’s what they now play with Domenico Tedesco in charge. The football is anything but direct and Leipzig don’t take many shots. Games have, by and large, been close and dull under Tedesco, with the team taking few risks, not making many mistakes, and winning close games thanks to their quality.
But how long can that last? This style, and close games, seems to rely on Leipzig taking the lead as often as possible. Nobody trailed for as few minutes (230) after Tedesco’s arrival last season but they will have to be able to come back at some point and they don’t look like a team capable of dominating games they are chasing. If the chips fall against them it could be a horrible season. All it would take is a poor run from Christopher Nkunku, or an injury, and things would look tricky.
The possible arrival of Timo Werner could help but the signing of David Raum won’t even move the needle given Leipzig already had the superb Angeliño at left-wingback.
Prediction: 4th but the only team in last season’s top four could drop out
Good summer? They have improved in midfield with Xaver Schlager but Nordi Mukiele is a big loss at the back
Look out for … whether Tedesco lasts the season. Yep, I’m that unconvinced!
SC Freiburg
2021/22: 6th
If you want my thoughts on Freiburg in general, here’s a piece on the club and head coach Christian Streich.
For the new season, the big concern is a repeat of their last venture into Europe nearly a decade ago, when they went from fifth to fourteenth. This time around they do have a deeper squad and Streich has an intelligent team capable of switching seamlessly between a back three and a back four to match their opponents and create individual battles.
Nico Schlotterbeck’s move to Dortmund is a huge blow but has been nicely compensated by the return of Matthias Ginter on a free transfer. He will be crucial in a team built on solidity, adding experience even if he can’t replicate Schlotterbeck’s all-action style.
The signings of Ritsu Doan and Danie-Kofi Kyereh are very exciting, especially the latter after he was so impressive working selflessly and providing consistent end product for St. Pauli last season. Doan is an impressive dribbler with an eye for goal and could offer a bit more magic for Streich to turn to in tighter games.
Prediction: Midtable and some superb Streich lines on the World Cup happening in Qatar and in the winter
Good summer? As ever, Freiburg have done as well as anyone could have hoped
Look out for … I’m treating myself but it’s Streich at all times. The man has a heart of gold, moments of utter madness on the touchline, and a quicker wit than anyone else in the league.
Schalke 04
2021/22: 1st in 2. Bundesliga
They’ve added an enormous 14 players and have a new head coach. But how many of those signings will pay off and how long will it take them to find their best side?
Frank Kramer is an interesting appointment. It’s rare to see a club come up but with have a new head coach take over in pre-season. There hasn’t been much joined up thinking at Schalke for years and this could be the same. A new squad have to get used to a new coach who did a very decent job at Bielefeld but was sacked last season as they were going down and playing with perhaps the most agricultural style in the league.
Schalke’s fans will be huge for them in home games and that will surely be enough to see them safe after a year in the second tier.
Prediction: Safety but no more than five goals from second tier specialist and last season’s hero Simon Terodde
Good summer? Is busy good? They needed quality more than numbers and we’ll see if they added enough
Look out for … the return of the Revierderby, where form actually does go out the window, as the old adage goes.
SV Werder Bremen
2021/22: 2nd in 2. Bundesliga
Werder Bremen are likeable and a massive club and, as with Schalke, the top flight is richer with them a part of it.
Ole Werner has been terrific in the second tier for years and was unlucky not to take Holstein Kiel up. He has his shot now and Bremen will not fear anyone as they play attractive football but with a robust frontline.
They’ve once again dipped into the Northern European market to sign Jens Stage and they’ve added good defenders in Amos Pieper and Niklas Stark but how anyone is signing 25-year-old Oliver Burke to play top flight football in 2022 is beyond me. Hopefully they won’t need him too much.
Prediction: A relegation battle for a bit - Bremen never have things straightforward - but
Good summer? Nothing special but the squad was already looking decent and they didn’t have much money to play with
Look out for … Marvin Ducksch keeps ripping up the second tier, it’s time for him to do it against the big boys as well
TSG Hoffenheim
2021/22: 9th
For the second time in three years, I think Hoffenheim have needlessly made a chage in the dugout. New boss André Breitenreiter should bring some offensive football, though, and did have a good year with FC Zürich. Now he’s back in Germany where he was fantastic for Paderborn but had tough spells in charge of basketcase clubs Schalke and Hannover.
There are plenty of exciting players for him to coach, with goalscoring midfielder Grischa Prömel joining this summer to support fellow midfielder Christoph Baumgartner and some superb forwards. When fit Andrej Kramarić is one of the league’s best, Ilhas Bebou can be a handful, and Georginio Rütter is one of the most exciting young players in the country.
Losing David Raum is a big setback, though, as is the departure of midfielder Florian Grillitsch, who helped the team control games in recent seasons. Hoffenheim will score plenty, the question is if they can keep them out at the other end.
Prediction: Fun and a European spot if Kramarić can rediscover top form
Good summer? Prömel is a very good signing but defenders are needed
Look out for … Rütter’s development, he is going places.
Union Berlin
2021/22: 5th
I am so reluctant to say they can’t repeat their success because all Union ever do is overachieve, lose key players, sign a few guys you’ve never heard of, then overachieve again. But I'll say it, it’s too many this time.
Union scored 50 league goals last season. Taiwo Awoniyi, Grischa Prömel, and Mx Kruse scored 28 of them but don’t play for the club anymore. Sheraldo Becker is excellent in a front two but no goalscorer, leaving huge pressure on new arrivals Theoson Siebatcheu and Jamie Leweling to fill the void, and maybe 32-year-old Sven Michel to play and perform regularly too.
You can always trust Union defensively and from set-pieces, making a massive dip in form unlikely, but they finished fifth last season and really could have made the top four.
Prediction: Midtable but with a better European run than last season’s UECL group stage exit
Good summer? I would be an idiot to ever say Union have played the market poorly
Look out for … Siebatcheu, who doesn’t look the cleanest technically but still scored 22 in the Swiss Super League last season
VfB Stuttgart
2021/22: 15th
Injury luck and final day survival. 2020/21 so promising after promotion and Pellegrino Matarazzo an exciting manager
For now Sasa Kalajdžić still there with, Silas finally fit again and Tiago Tomas a January arrival who clearly knows where the goal is. Plus Darko Churlinov has arrived. There’s so much attacking talent from a lot of players who were hardly available last season.
Borna Sosa could yet leave and that would really hurt. The real question is whether or not the 2020/21 season was a flash in the pan. If not, Stuttgart could really surprise people. If so, it’ll be another long season.
Prediction: No last day drama needed to survive this time as they’re rewarded for trusting the players and coach who served them well before last season
Good summer? Orel Mangala will be missed and a signing will be needed if Sosa leaves this month
Look out for … Wataru Endo, my favourite holding midfielder in the league. Technically excellent, tenacious, tactically astute. He ticks every box.
VfL Bochum
2021/22: 13th
It is a tale as old as time.
Club comes up, club survives surprisingly comfortably, club loses a couple of players and goes down.
Bochum will put up a fight but have lost two key defenders in Armel Bella-Kotchap and Maxim Leitsch, I can only see them staying up if two other sides (I’m looking at you, Hertha and Augsburg) are worse.
Prediction: I just really struggle to see them surviving
Good summer? It depends how much Philipp Förster and Kevin Stöger can make up for what they’ve lost defensively with added creativity
Look out for … the best Currywurst in Germany - or so they say - if you’re lucky enough to catch a game.
VfL Wolfsburg
2021/22: 12th
Hello there, Niko Kovač. The former Frankfurt and Bayern boss is back in Germany and with what looks like an exciting young squad.
Before his reputation took a hit at Bayern, Kovač impressed with Frankfurt. His ideas for a team that dominates the ball may be lacking but he should absolutely be capable of taking VfL back towards the European places after huge underachievement last season.
Xaver Schlager may be gone but there is a lot of talent across the pitch, from Maxence Lacroix at the back to Max Arnold and Aster Vranckx in midfield, Riedle Baku on the right and new signing Patrick Wimmer also there to support Max Kruse, Lukas Nmecha, and Jonas Wind.
Prediction: Back in serious contention for Europe and Vranckx to become a household name
Good summer? They need more depth at the back but it looks pretty good
Look out for … the genius of Kruse, always.