Not long to go now folks.
Europe’s big leagues are just around the corner, starting a little earlier this year to accommodate the Qatar World Cup, and still in the midst of some frantic transfer activity.
And as the 2022/23 Bundesliga is just two weeks away let’s take a look at the opening round of fixtures and pick out the best match-ups. I’ll stick in the current odds of who I believe should emerge with three points and there might be a nice ACCA there!
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Bayern Munich
What a way top open the campaign. The Europa League champions against the 2022 Bundesliga winners on a balmy Friday night in Frankfurt.
For the hosts it’s a chance to show they can continue to compete with the very best, and that they are a team to be reckoned with, while the visitors begin life without Robert Lewandowski.
Oliver Glasner’s Eagles finished 11th in the 2021/22 Bundesliga season but they thrived in Europe, beating West Ham on the way to a Europa League final win over Scottish club Rangers. 29 year old Serbian winger Filip Kostic has been Frankfurt’s best player over the past four seasons, while young central defender Evan Ndicka has attracted plenty of interest in the summer market.
All eyes will be on Bayern’s new striker Sadio Mane and defensive recruit Matthijs de Ligt as Julian Nagelsmanns’s side begin another title campaign.
Bayern @ 1.39
Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen
The pre-season Bundesliga 2022 betting odds are backing Bayern to win an 11th consecutive title and Borussia Dortmund to run them the closest and, after losing their star striker Erling Braut Haaland, BVB have conducted some sound business, bringing in young striker Karim Adeyemi and Nico Schlotterbeck in defence. This could be a big season for English wonderkid Jude Bellingham while skipper Marco Reus remains a class act, making the third highest number of assists last season with 12.
Bayer Leverkusen finished third last season and the five times Bundesliga runners up will be there or thereabouts again. They have their own young star in 19 year old midfielder Florian Wirtz who has already earned four full caps for Germany. And Czech striker Patrik Schick has been one of the most consistent strikers in Europe in recent years.
Of these four games, here at SBOTOP we believe this is the tightest to call; but Dortmund have the slight edge.
BVB @ 2.06
FC Union Berlin vs Hertha Berlin
The Berlin Derby is still on after Hertha stayed in the top flight last term by the skin of their teeth. After finishing 16th in the table, they squeezed through a relegation play-off by a 2-1 score line against Hamburg. Trailing by a goal after the first leg, Dedryck Boyata and Marvin Plattenhardt fired Hertha to safety and new coach Sandro Schwarz will try to avoid another scare this term.
In contrast Urs Fischer led Union Berlin to a fifth placed finish in their third season in the top flight and they are about to embark on a Europa adventure. Fischer has just strengthened his team’s midfield, bringing in 26 year old Norwegian midfielder Morten Thorsby, signed from Serie A club Sampdoria this week.
Union Berlin @ 1.77
Stuttgart vs Red Bull Leipzig
After a poor first half of the 2021/22 campaign Domenico Tedesco took over as Red Bull boss and steered the club to its minimum expectation, a top four finish. He’ll want to do better again this year as well as his side going deep into the Champions League.
Leipzig attacking midfielder Christopher Nkunku had an outstanding season and he’s been the subject of transfer speculation all summer. But the Frenchman has said he won’t be leaving Red Bull any time soon and we’re expecting him to provide plenty more Bundesliga 2022 highlights. The experienced pair of Yussuf Poulsen and Emil Forsberg will provide creative support as Red Bull look to continue their expansive style of play.
After a period in the second tier VfB Stuttgart were promoted in 2020 and they narrowly earned a third successive season in the top flight, a win over Koln giving them a 15th placed finish last term. Survival is the aim again, but as recently as 2007 Stuttgart were Bundesliga champions and fans at their 60,000 seater stadium are hoping for a return to top flight stability.
Red Bull @ 1.77
Opening day fixtures in full:
5th August
Frankfurt vs Bayern Munich
6th August
Bochum vs Mainz
Borussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen
FC Union Berlin vs Hertha Berlin
Augsburg vs Freiburg
Monchengladbach vs Hoffenheim
Wolfsburg vs Werder Bremen
7th August
Stuttgart vs Red Bull Leipzig
Cologne vs Schalke
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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