It may sound like a broken record, but Bayern Munich will enter next season as the defending Bundesliga champions after winning the Meisterschale for the second year in a row this past term. Vincent Kompany’s men had a 16-point cushion over second-seeded Borussia Dortmund. RB Leipzig, VfB Stuttgart, Hoffenheim, Bayer Leverkusen, and SC Freiburg make up the rest of the Top 7, as all of them qualified for European football.
Save for the 2023-24 season, Bayern Munich have always won the Meisterschale, and the SBOTOP Bundesliga 2026 odds predict them to finish on top of the German top-flight in 2026-27, barring any unforeseen circumstances. With how the summer window has shaped up so far, it’ll take a Herculean effort and a lot of luck from the teams below the Bavarian giants to pull off the upset.
Borussia Dortmund
Let’s face it, Borussia Dortmund were never close to challenging Bayern Munich this past season, but at least they were the best of the rest, ultimately finishing eight points ahead of RB Leipzig in third.
In Niko Kovac’s first full season in charge, BVB boasted the league’s best defence, having conceded only 34 goals (league-low). They also had the league’s third-best offence with 70 goals, with only VfB Stuttgart and Bayern Munich above them.
This summer window, Borussia Dortmund made wholesale changes to their roster, parting ways with Julian Brandt, Salih Ozcan, Cole Campbell, and Karim Adeyemi. At the same time, Niklas Süle retired from football altogether. In return, they focused on getting younger, acquiring teenagers Samuele Inacio, Mussa Kaba, Justin Lerma, Bjarki Hrafn Gardarsson, Joane Gadou, and Konstantinos Karetsas. BVB have built a reputation for developing young players well, so it’ll be interesting to see how they’ll fare this upcoming season.
More importantly, Kovac would be relieved that their two best players will stay, as no rival team triggered the release clauses of Nico Schlotterbeck and Serhou Guirassy, who will play pivotal roles in the team’s fortunes alongside veterans Gregor Kobel and Julian Ryerson.
RB Leipzig
After failing to even qualify for European football two years ago, RB Leipzig eventually returned to the Top 3 and booked their place in the Champions League. The Red Bulls opened their 2025-26 campaign with an embarrassing 6-0 defeat to Bayern Munich, but they still recorded their joint-highest total of Bundesliga wins (20).
Christoph Baumgartner and David Raum stepped up last season, while Yan Diomande took the league by storm. Antonio Nusa, Assan Ouedraogo, Conrad Harder, and Romulo Cardoso have also adjusted to the demands of the Bundesliga. This summer window, they strengthened their backline with the additions of Maxime Esteve and Orjan Nyland. However, they’ve sold Diomande to Real Madrid for a mouthwatering €125 million, per the Bundesliga 2026 news.
Despite their third-place finish, RB Leipzig have replaced Ole Werner with Martin Demichelis. The former Bayern Munich defender had led the Bayern reserves, so Demichelis will apply what he learned there to help the Red Bulls reach new heights.
VfB Stuttgart
VfB Stuttgart consolidated their status as one of the rising powers in the German top-flight with their fourth-place finish last term. Sebastian Hoeneß’ side reached their second successive DFB-Pokal final and qualified for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons.
They wouldn’t finish fourth last season if it weren’t for Deniz Undav, who finished second behind Harry Kane in the Bundesliga Golden Boot race, scoring 19 league goals. Angelo Stiller, Ermedin Demirovic, Jamie Leweling, Chris Fuhrich, and Atakan Karazor also took a step up last campaign.
Die Schwaben didn’t really do much in the summer window, as they kept their core players. All they did was give Bilal El Khannouss a permanent deal while adding Grischa Promel on a free transfer to bolster their midfield depth.
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen had a difficult campaign last term, as they dropped out of the Top 4 just two years after winning their maiden Meisterschale. They opened their season with Erik ten Hag, but the Dutchman quickly fell out of favour within the front office, and Die Werkself eventually went with Kasper Hjulmand. Last June, Carles Martinez Novell signed a two-year deal to replace Hjulmand.
Compared to last year, Bayer Leverkusen have been quiet this offseason. Some of their notable moves include selling Alejandro Grimaldo and Matej Kovar to Atletico Madrid and PSV Eindhoven. Patrik Schick, who scored 16 times in 28 league matches, will lead Die Werkself up front, and the team will need big years from Ibrahim Maza, Christian Kofane, Malik Tillman, Nathan Tella, Robert Andrich, Aleix Garcia, Jarell Quansah, Edmond Tapsoba, Mark Flekken, and Victor Boniface.
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