Top five contenders for the Champions League spots in the Bundesliga
People have been put off watching the Bundesliga due to the fact that more often than not, Bayern Munich end up being champions. With their 27 league titles, there’s no doubt that they are the dominant force, however, don’t let that put you off.
The 2016/17 campaign saw the race for a Champions League spot go down to the wire. German football fans have been treated to the rise of RB Leipzig, who finished runners-up to Bayern Munich, while Borussia Dortmund clinched the third automatic qualification spot with just three games remaining.
As a result, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim finished fourth and although they lost to Liverpool in the qualifying round, they’ve been a breath of fresh air under the guidance of Julian Nagelsmann.
As Bayern Munich look to clinch their sixth consecutive league title, we take a look at the teams who look to contend for a place in the 2018/19 Champions League come the end of the season.
#1 Bayern Munich
Starting with the reigning champions, Bayern Munich are once again favourites to clinch the Bundesliga title, which would be their second under Carlo Ancelotti. However, it’s the Champions League title that the fans really want.
They last won the European competition in 2013 when they beat German rivals Borussia Dortmund in the final at Wembley. Since then, however, Bayern have arguably failed to live up to their expectations in Europe – given their club stature and worldwide status.
Failure to qualify for the Champions League would be a catastrophic disaster. It would arguably be their worst campaign, given the last time they finished outside the Champions League spot was in 1995, finishing the season in sixth.
It’s important that Robert Lewandowski remains fit for the whole campaign. Without the Poland international, it’s difficult to see where the goals are going to come from, taking into account Thomas Muller’s poor performance last season.