The Bundesliga season is underway, and precisely one game into the season is ripe for some massive overreactions. Here are Fear the Wall’s hottest takes for the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. Make sure to screenshot these so you can be really annoying at the end of the season.
Player of the Season
Paul: Michael Olise
I think Olise is a phenomenal player and will continue to prove exactly how good he is in his second season in Germany.
Sean: Nico Schlotterbeck
I’m not saying Schlotti will be the best player per se, but I do think
he has a strong chance of being what Americans would consider the Bundesliga’s MVP. My logic is that Dortmund’s back line will be ineffective without him, but under his leadership, it can evolve into an elite unit. He just has to stay healthy to do so.
Michael: Serhou Guirassy
Alright – I’m off to a hot start here, I’m well aware. This will be explained further in my predictions later in this article, but I foresee Guirassy hitting another gear compared to last year. When we needed him, he delivered. Even when we needed him in a lackluster match against Rot-Weiss Essen, he delivered. Dortmund will achieve considerable success this year, and I believe the catalyst behind that success will be Guirassy.
Top Goalscorer
Paul: Serhou Guirassy
This is where I’m choosing to be a little optimistic. The obvious answer for the top goalscorer is Harry Kane, but I think Kane is likely to take a small step back as he ages. Guirassy will have a big season, and I am hoping it will be enough to claim the Torjägerkanone.
Sean: Harry Kane
I might consider this cheating a bit because he already has three goals, but if he can stay healthy, then I think he’ll run away with it, potentially even challenging his total of 36 from a few years ago. Bayern just looked so dominant against Leipzig.
Michael: Harry Kane
This comes specifically from his moniker of the “spot kick king”. He will score plenty of goals from open play, but he will also be the go-to shooter from the spot, which is why he gets the nod here. Not to mention that Bayern has a habit of beating the brakes off of teams whenever there is a true mismatch (apparently, the energy cans fall in this category?).
Breakout Star
Paul: Can Uzun
Frankfurt lost Omar Marmoush and Hugo Ekitike, but they are still stacked with talent. So much so that I could have picked several Frankfurt players to be the breakout stars of this season. I’ve gone for Can Uzun, partly because I think he’s a solid talent, and partly because he had a great opening game of the season.
Sean: Justin Njinmah
At a certain point last season, I made Njinmah my player to watch for Werder Bremen, and I think I’m running him back as a player who is poised to break out for Werder Bremen. He ended up struggling a bit towards the end of the season, but I still like what he’s done previously with Werder and BVB II. He’s got excellent dribbling skills, as evidenced by the absolute banger he scored against Frankfurt last weekend.
Michael: Malik Tillman
I’m going to expose myself as a USMNT fan here, but it’s hard not to love what Malik Tillman has done in the past 12 months. Bagged 12 goals and two assists in the Eredivisie, as well as three goals and two assists in the Champions League. Leverkusen was looking for a player to fill (some of) the gaping void left by Florian Wirtz, and Tillman was sought after and brought in to hopefully do so. With experience playing as a 10 and out on the wing, Leverkusen will be looking for someone to step up, and I think Malik Tillman will be up to the task.
Bundesliga Champions
Paul: Bayern Munich
It’s hard to look past Bayern in any season, though I do think there are enough question marks surrounding their coaching and depth to think there might be an opportunity for someone else to claim the upset.
Sean: Bayern Munich
Unfortunately, I don’t foresee much of a title race this season. As much as Bayern have to deal with injuries and other issues, I just don’t think any of the other challengers are strong enough to come close.
Michael: Borussia Dortmund
Sue me, but I’m high on hopium right now. Nico Kovac has stabilized the backline, and we will soon be getting Nico Schlotterbeck back from injury, who should further stabilize us. I love the strength in our midfield, specifically what Felix Nmecha provides. In an ideal scenario, we can play Nmecha and Jobe as double pivots and let either Brandt or Chukwuemeka man the #10 spot. But either way, I see our midfield as a strength. If BVB is sitting at the #2 or #3 spot at the end of the Hinrunde, I think they have a realistic shot at lifting the Meisterschale.
Top Four
Paul: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt, Stuttgart
I think BVB, Frankfurt, and Stuttgart will join Bayern in the top four, but I believe there is plenty of uncertainty surrounding each of those picks. Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig will surely be in the running for Champions League qualification this season too, but I suspect both will fall short. The optimist in me chooses to believe that Dortmund are the most likely candidate to give Bayern a run for their money.
Sean: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen
Despite my frustrations with BVB’s transfer window, I still believe that overall, we have the second-best squad in the league. That’s mainly due to the significant sales by other top clubs in the Bundesliga. Of the other contenders, I think Eintracht Frankfurt did the best job of replacing their losses. Ritsu Doan and Jonathan Burkhardt are both established Bundesliga talents and should contribute right away. Leverkusen, on the other hand, had much more to replace with the losses of Wirtz, Frimpong, Tah, Xhaka, and others; however, they also signed several promising players.
Michael: Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig
Relegation
Paul Johnson: Augsburg, Heidenheim
One of the Bundesliga’s greatest strengths is its unpredictability. Unfortunately, that does make predicting what will happen quite difficult… Still, I’ve gone for Augsburg and Heidenheim to go down this season. They were both bad last season, and they don’t look much better this season. That’s as far as my reasoning goes.
Sean: Heidenheim, FC Köln
I don’t think there are any obvious relegation candidates this season. Heidenheim barely avoided it last year, and Köln sold one of their top goalscorers last season in Damion Downs.
Michael: Hamburger SV, Heidenheim
I won’t be shocked to see the newly promoted Hamburger SV get sent back down, but I would love to be proven wrong. Sadly, I also won’t be shocked if at least one of these teams can pull out a result against Die Schwarzgelben while BVB is away from home. Would love to be proven wrong on that one.
Your Thoughts?
Give us your hottest takes in the comments below!
