The 2021/22 Bundesliga campaign kicks off in just a couple of days and while perennially dominant Bavarians Bayern Munich are clear favorites to romp to their 10th straight title, there are plenty of other markets and lines worth pursuing in Germany this season.
Bayern finished 14 points clear of their nearest challengers RB Leipzig last season and Die Roten tightened their stranglehold on the domestic game by snatching highly-regarded manager Julian Nagelsmann and key center-half Dayot Upamecano from their closest rivals in the summer.
Unsurprisingly, Der FCB has been priced out of the market at the top end of the table, but beyond the all-conquering Star of the South, bettors can find value elsewhere to sink their teeth into.
With that in mind, we’ve taken a look at some of the best picks and betting tips for the 2021/22 Bundesliga season below.
2021/22 Bundesliga winner without Bayern Munich
Odds taken from DraftKings:
- Borussia Dortmund -150
- RB Leipzig +225
- Bayer Leverkusen +1000
- Borussia Monchengladbach +1600
- Wolfsburg +2200
- Eintracht Frankfurt +3500
Our Pick: Borussia Dortmund -150
Borussia Dortmund finished third last season behind champions Bayern Munich and runners-up RB Leipzig, though there is evidence to suggest that BVB can claim a spot as the best of the rest in the Bundesliga in 2021/22.
With Nagelsmann gone and cornerstone defenders Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate sold to Bayern Munich and Liverpool respectively, Leipzig suddenly look much weaker than before and Dortmund have the tools to capitalize.
Jadon Sancho’s creativity is gone, however, Erling Haaland looks likely to stick around for another year and the addition of Dutch hotshot Donyell Malen to a stable of attackers that already boasted the aforementioned prolific Norwegian, Marco Reus, Gio Reyna and wonderkid Youssoufa Moukoko makes Dortmund a frightening prospect.
Most importantly, Die Schwarzgelben have a new man in the dugout. Marco Rose worked wonders with an inferior set of players at Gladbach and his innovative coaching style should produce similar, excellent results at the Signal Iduna Park.
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To finish in the top four
Odds taken from bet365:
- Bayern Munich – 1/500
- Borussia Dortmund – 1/7
- RB Leipzig – 3/10
- Bayer Leverkusen – 5/4
- Borussia Monchengladbach – 9/4
- Wolfsburg – 11/4
- Eintracht Frankfurt – 7/1
Our Pick: Bayer Leverkusen at 5/4
As their pre-season prices suggest, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are the overwhelming favorites to occupy the top three positions in the 2021/22 Bundesliga, leaving one of the four lucrative Champions League qualification berths left to fill.
Remarkably, all four of the remaining main contenders will start the new campaign with a fresh face in charge and that in turn sets up an intriguing battle for continental qualification glory.
Swiss coach Gerardo Seoane, who joined Bayer Leverkusen, is perhaps the most interesting appointment however. The 42-year-old transformed Young Boys from also-rans into four-time champions in the Swiss Super League following his arrival in 2018 and Seoane should work well with the abundance of talented youngsters at the BayArena.
Gladbach meanwhile, have lost influential coach Marco Rose to Dortmund, while Oliver Glasner – who guided Wolfsburg to fourth place last term – has jumped ship to Eintracht Frankfurt who finished fifth, replacing Adi Hütter, who landed at Monchengladbach to fill the gap left by Rose in a bizarre managerial merry-go-round.
Ex-PSV boss Mark van Bommel, who takes the reins at Wolfsburg, is another new face in the Bundesliga, though we think Gerardo Seoane is worth backing to make the biggest impact.
Winger Leon Bailly is gone, but in Mitchel Bakker, Edmond Tapsoba, Jonathan Tah, Exequiel Palacios, Florian Wirtz and Moussa Diaby, Leverkusen still have a collection of some of the Bundesliga’s most promising youngsters and the talent at their disposal makes them our pick at 5/4 to claim the fourth spot.
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2021/22 Bundesliga relegation battle
Odds taken from bet365:
- Greuther Furth – 1/1
- Bochum – 1/1
- Arminia Bielefeld – 15/8
- Augsburg – 10/3
- Koln – 7/2
- Mainz – 4/1
Our Pick: Arminia Bielefeld at 15/8
Newly-promoted pair Greuther Furth and Bochum have been priced as the joint favorites for the drop in 2021/22, however, Arminia Bielefeld could represent a more profitable option at a more favorable price.
Arminia managed to avoid relegation by the skin of their teeth last season, though their achievement was scarcely deserved.
Die Blauen finished the campaign with the second-worst xGF (expected goals for) and xGA (expected goals against) in the entire division, while their joint leading scorers Fabian Klos and Ritsu Dōan – who has since returned to parent club PSV – notched just five times each.
Following a summer of bargain-basement shopping by manager Frank Kramer, Bielefeld’s squad looks weak and low on goals again ahead of the 2021/22 season, and at 15/8, they look excellent value as a candidate for relegation.
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2021/22 Bundesliga top scorer
Odds taken from bet365:
- Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) – 1/2
- Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) – 4/1
- Andre Silva (RB Leipzig) – 13/2
- Wouter Weghorst (Wolfsburg) – 33/1
- Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich) – 66/1
Our Pick: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) at 1/2
Two of the Bundesliga’s biggest stars are the main subjects of any conversation about who might win the division’s Golden Boot in 2021/22, though the evergreen Robert Lewandowski is our pick to top the charts again ahead of in-demand starlet Erling Haaland.
The prolific Polish international turns 33 later this month, though Lewandowski is aging like a fine wine and he bagged a career-best 41 Bundesliga goals in just 29 appearances last season.
That incredible haul – which topped Erling Haaland’s total by 14 goals – landed Lewandowski his fourth German Golden Boot award in a row and spearheading a dominant Bayern team, he should blast his way clear of the competition again in 2021/22.
At 1/2, there is still enough wriggle room to extract some value from Lewandowski’s price.
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