The Bundesliga is temporarily on hold for the winter break, and that gives us a moment to take stock of the title race, with Bayern Munich currently top of the table and four points clear of 2024 champions Bayer Leverkusen.
Eintracht Frankfurt and Red Bull Leipzig are five points further back with FSV Mainz and Borussia Dortmund making up the top six. As the winter break approached Leverkusen made a charge with five successive wins; and the Bundesliga 2025 betting odds, here at SBOTOP, have shifted towards Xabi Alonso’s side, though Bayern remain odds-on favourites. The gap at the top has been closing as Die Werkself’s statement 5-1 win over SC Freiburg made it five victories on the bounce and there was a spectacular return to form for Patrik Schick as the Czech striker scored four goals.
Bayern Munich also signed off with a 5-1 victory, over Red Bull, and that was an impressive bounce-back from a 2-1 defeat to Mainz the week before. And the oddity in the mauling of Leipzig was that Bundesliga leading scorer Harry Kane failed to add to his 14 for the campaign as the goals were shared out between Jamal Musiala, Konrad Laimer, Joshua Kimmich, Leroy Sane and Alphonso Davies who all got in the score-sheet.
Winning the 2025 Bundesliga title is a must for manager Vincent Kompany after his catastrophic season in the Premier League with Burnley, and for Kane too anything less would be a serious blow. Like his boss the England talisman left England for Germany in search of silverware at a club which wins trophies at will …well that was until last year when the Bavarians drew a blank after winning 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles. If they fail to win anything this year the crackpot theory that Kane is cursed will gather momentum!
While both Bayern and Bayer are back in training and have friendly fixtures scheduled to get the players match-fit, there is sure to be Bundesliga 2025 news off the pitch as the January Transfer Window swings into action. Kompany did some business in the summer, bringing in Michael Olise from Crystal Palace and the winger put in some promising performances and will be one to watch in the New Year. But one player who has struggled to make an impact under Kompany is France forward Kingsley Coman who has started just six of 15 matches, and reports in England suggest that title chasing Arsenal may be ready to make a move. The Gunners are desperately holding on to the coat-tails of Premier League leaders Liverpool and a recent injury to their top assist-maker Bukayo Saka has not helped, and Arsenal slipped up away to Brighton on Saturday where they were held to a 1-1 draw. Saka’s injury looks like it may keep him out for longer than originally hoped and Mikel Arteta is keen to bring in re-enforcements to his attacking unit. Rest assured Bayern’s recruitment team will also be looking to see if they can improve Kompany’s hand as, while a four point lead is handy, the Bavarians will be nervously looking over their shoulders at a team fully capable of putting together a devastating run.
No move yet for Wirtz
Any fears in Leverkusen that their superstar forward Florian Wirtz might be tempted away have been dispelled as the Germany star has said he wants to stay at the club at least until the 2026 World Cup and, while that is music to the ears of Werkself fans, it is a little frustrating for Bayern fans as the Munich giants are well documented admirers of the 21 year old. Wirtz is the league’s top assists maker with seven, and with seven goals he was Bayer’s top scorer until Schick’s haul against Freiburg took him up to nine.
Leverkusen will be keen to keep their defensive unit together too, well aware that La Liga title chasers Barcelona have been monitoring Leverkusen centre back Jonathan Tah. The club has already made a move in the market, signing 18 year old Argentine striker Alejo Sarco from Argentina Primera Division side Velez Sarsfield. Sarco is one for the future and Die Werkself have also expressed an interest in Manchester City midfielder James McAtee, possibly as a replacement for Wirtz if and when he leaves Leverkusen.
And Alonso will hope to see more of his summer recruits Aleix Garcia, Martin Terrier and Nordi Mukiele in the second half of the campaign after relatively slow starts at the club. Terrier and Mukiele suffered injuries and they have impressed recently, but Garcia is finding it hard work to force his way into a midfield dominated by Granit Xhaka and with Exequiel Palacios and Robert Andrich also fighting for places.
Leverkusen kick off the restart with a mouth-watering clash away to Borussia Dortmund on Friday 10th January and they could reduce the gap at the top to a single point before Bayern Munich face Borussia Monchengladbach away on Saturday. Bring it on!
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