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We are three matches into the new Bundesliga season and already we’ve had some excitement, two managerial sackings, a lot of goals, and somebody defeating Bayern Munich.
I asked fellow Bundesliga observer Brian Sanders for his thoughts about the Bundesliga campaign so far:
1. Which team has impressed the most in the first three matches of the season?
Brian: The biggest surprise has been Hoffenheim. Sure, it’s incredibly tied to Kramaric, but nobody was expecting much in the beginning with their European campaign and a new coach. Watch this space with Hoffenheim.
2. Who has been more disappointing: Mainz or Schalke?
Brian: Schalke are the worst. They are one of the real national teams with an international following. Mainz is merely the biggest club in Mainz while the Royal Blues were just in the Champions League knockout phase less than two years ago.
3. After David Wagner (Schalke) and Achim Beierlorzer (Mainz) were sacked, which coach is next on the hot seat in the Bundesliga?
Brian: Without a doubt it has to be Markus Gisdol. He got Köln out of relegation trouble, but they were nearly secure when the Coronavirus Break occurred and they did very little on their return. Little has changed while they’ve made transfers we will see what happens between now and Christmas. Hennes the Goat will grow thin with worry.
4. Fill in the blank: The only thing that (or team who) can stop Bayern’s march to a ninth successive title is __________.
Brian: Bayern themselves. The strategy employed by Flick is high-risk, high-reward. In the last two matches, you saw Hoffenheim take the win and if not for Lewandowski being such a gem of a player, Hertha could’ve taken points too. Bayern can be beat and while they added a slew of players before the deadline, they play two matches a week nonstop until January. They will slip up guaranteed and the question is who of Leipzig or Dortmund or at a stretch Eintracht Frankfurt, who are not in Europe, can do with their opportunity.
5. Could this be the year that someone other than Bayern or BVB become champions?
Brian: Unlikely! Oddly, Eintracht might be the best option for one major reason: No European obligations. Leipzig will keep pace all season, but maybe with the talisman gone, Naglesmann can manage his team beyond last season’s third place finish. Gladbach and Leverkusen have the resources, but again European obligations will stretch their rosters.
6. Can Arminia Bielefeld avoid the drop this season?
Brian: Very small chance for 15th and higher, but with Mainz and Schalke both on zero points and four in the bag themselves, 16th and the relegation playoff wouldn’t be a stretch and you never know if Köln will figure themselves out or if Bremen will be in it or in mid-table.
7. Which Berlin side will finish with more points?
Brian: Call me crazy, but both will be top half. Union Berlin made a lot of good moves in the off-season building on their good debut campaign. Hertha is gonna be pushing for Europe. Hertha will finish higher (top seven), but Union will be top half.
8. I place the probability that the season will be interrupted by COVID at __________.
Brian: 75% chance of a full league stoppage. Bavaria is already enduring the worst in the country. When the most prominent team in the league voices for a halt, there will be one.
9. True or False: Hamburg will finally win promotion back to the top flight this year.
Brian: True. They have a coach who is not part of the Bundesliga establishment and not from the HSV system. They will go up likely as champions, but they won’t be the only big club that will likely be promoted, Hannover is the other that will push, expect the 3rd promotion team to be someone unexpected like Bochum or Kiel or an Aue.
My thanks to Brian Sanders for his contribution to this story. The Bundesliga resumes next Saturday with a cracker as Hoffenheim hosts Borussia Dortmund.
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