Champions - Bayern Munich
As much as I would like to see a new title winner, you still can't really bet against Bayern. They still have the best squad in the league by a long way, have strengthened well - with Upamecano it is hard to see anyone getting through their defence next season. Not only that, their closest challengers, Dortmund and Leipzig, have weakened themselves in my view - you cannot replace a Jadon Sancho and although Leipzig got themselves a prolific goalscorer (something they lacked last year), losing their two best defenders, and potentially Sabitzer, could hit them hard.
Champions League - Leipzig, Dortmund, Leverkusen
Last year's most solid defence, Leipzig would probably continue their stoutness at the back even with a new-look team and manager. This season they would not have to rely on the disappointing Sorloth or Hwang Hee Chan either as with Andre Silva, they have got themselves a world-class striker. Jesse Marsch is a top coach and given the similarity of how Leipzig and Salzburg play, in addition to the fact that not long ago he was sitting on the Leipzig bench alongside Rangnick, of all the clubs in the manager merry-go-round, RB Leipzig are set for a very fast start.
I predict Dortmund to finish third this year and a lot of it depends on how well Haaland does next season without Sancho to assist. They have bought Malen from PSV who is a very good player but is more of a goalscorer than a provider. Marco Rose probably isn't the coach they initially signed earlier in the year either after his torrid end to the season with Gladbach. They should still have enough quality to compete at the top nonetheless and it will be a close race between them and Leipzig.
Bayer Leverkusen could finally get into the Champions League next year. Losing both Benders is of course a big blow and our success next season will rely on how good the leadership is on the pitch - our squad is now one of the youngest in the league. Gerardo Seaone is a serial winner and although we struggled in preseason, that rarely ever reflects how we will fare in the season as a whole. By the end of this transfer window, our former weaknesses could be our strengths (in Bakker we have more than sufficiently replaced Wendell and Tapsoba and Kossounou together is arguably the best young defensive pairing in the world) but unless we don't work on our squad depth, we could place anywhere between 4th and 7th.
Relegated - Arminia Bielefeld, Greuther Furth, Bochum
They may be the safest teams to predict but that is simply because their overall quality is so weak. Bielefeld were fortunate to avoid relegation last season and had Schalke not had such a horrific time, they would have been. Furth come into the Bundesliga as a surprise team and unfortunately for them they sold one of their key players to their promotion season in David Raum (15 assists as left back) to Hoffenheim. Bochum do have some Bundesliga experience in their ranks whether it be Stafylidis or Rexhbecaj. Their best player is Bella-Kotchap but the weight of carrying a relegation contender is probably too much for a 19-year-old.
Surprise Team - Hertha Berlin
This really shouldn't be a surprise given the amount of money invested into the team over the last couple of seasons but surely this year is the year where Hertha push for Europe. Even if it just the UEFA Europa Conference League, it would represent a markedly improved campaign compared to last season's 14th. They have a very strong squad and if they keep the likes of Cunha, they will trouble the best of sides.
Top Scorer - Robert Lewandowski
He probably will not be able to rack up 41 goals again but I still expect a 30+ goal season.
Best Player - Dayot Upamecano
Like I said earlier, he can make Bayern's defence truly impenetrable - before teams could sit back and hit them on the counter but now they wouldn't even be able to do that.
Best Young Player - Florian Wirtz
So long as he continues to develop as he did last season, he can further establish himself as one of Europes best teenagers. I predict he can get double figures for assists this year.
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