CIES Football Observatory predict the final standings in Europe's top five leagues
The CIES Football Observatory published a report that predicted who would finish at the top of each of the big five leagues in Europe and their data suggests that there could be new champions crowned come May 2017. CIES are an independent study centre in Switzerland who specialise in the statistical analysis of football, especially European football.
The methodology used to arrive at the final positions for each club is based on observing their results since the 2011/12 season. They also look at each team’s offensive and defensive performances apart from how much they dominate games.
Bundesliga
The German Bundesliga has been won by Bayern Munich ever since Borussia Dortmund’s short-lived domination came to an end in 2012. Die Roten have won the last four league titles and look all set to make it five in a row. They were the first club to win it four times in a row and the streak could well become five by the end of this season.
Borussia Dortmund will not finish second this season according to CIES and they have picked surprise package RasenBallsport Leipzig to maintain their run. The newly promoted club have turned heads with their rise in the German football pyramid and their undefeated run of 13 games at the start of the season was a new record for a promoted club.
On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund have struggled to convert draws into wins and their six draws in 16 games has seen them fall 12 points behind Carlo Ancelotti’s Bayern. As things stand, the title race will be contested by Bayern and Leipzig and CIES expect the promoted side to falter before the finish line, predicting a 15-point lead for Bayern.
| Final Pos | Team | Points | Current Pos |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 83 | 1 |
| 2 | RB Leipzig | 68 | 2 |
| 3 | Borussia Dortmund | 62 | 6 |
| 4 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 55 | 4 |
| 16 | Ingolstadt | 35 | 17 |
| 17 | Hamburg | 30 | 16 |
| 18 | Darmstadt | 23 | 18 |