When asked to predict which team or teams I feel will be the big disappointments in the Bundesliga next season, it would have been easy to opt for the three newly promoted sides.
Sure enough, the SBOTOP Bundesliga betting odds make Darmstadt 98 and FC Heidenheim, who finished first and second, respectively, to gain automatic promotion, among the joint favourites to go straight back down.
The odds are slightly more favourable for VfB Stuttgart who are no stranger to the top flight and gained promotion via the play-offs.
Now I am not saying I believe both Darmstadt 98 and FC Heidenheim will stay up, but I think one of them may and that may be due to home advantage.
Heidenheim 1846 will be participating in their first-ever Bundesliga campaign (in 177 years of history) after finishing champions of Bundesliga 2 in the most dramatic of fashions.
They actually won 3-2 against Jahn Regensburg on the final day of last season by scoring two goals in stoppage time.
That meant they secured top spot ahead of Darmstadt on goal difference, much to the delight of their passionate fans, who will be packed into 15,000 capacity Voith-Arena every home match day.
Such a compact arena could potentially make life uncomfortable for more illustrious visitors, especially if the Bundesliga 2 top goal striker, Tim Kleindienst, can repeat his impressive goal-scoring form in the top flight.
Certainly, a lot of responsibility will be placed on the shoulders of the 27 year-old forward, with the hope he can replicate his 25 goals in the Bundesliga.
As for the other new boys, Darmstadt will also be hoping to benefit from home advantage at their tight 17,000 capacity ground as they return to the Bundesliga after a six-year absence.
Either way, it will be interesting to see how they develop at the sharp end of German football.
The sharp end has been where Borussia Dortmund have been at for some time now, creating Bundesliga highlights to savour, including some memorable title triumphs.
The most recent, though, was over a decade ago and that is set to continue.
I read earlier that perhaps we should beware a wounded Dortmund and, after coming so close to snatching the title from Bayern Munich’s grasp, I get it.
Edin Terzic’s team certainly ran roughshod over the opposition at times last term, aided and abetted by the return – from testicular cancer no less – of Sebastien Haller.
Had the Ivorian striker been fit for the whole season, it’s fair to assume Borussia would have been kicking off 2023/24 as defending champions.
Likewise, what if Bundesliga player of the year Jude Bellingham, who has now moved to Real Madrid, had been fit for the season finale.
Yet for all the ifs, buts and maybes, it didn’t happen and I feel their chance has come and gone for the moment, while the devastation they experienced in the manner they did on the final day will take some time to recover from.
That is why I believe they will be one of the disappointments next term as their failure to land the title will run deep. Yes, they will make the top four but anyone expecting them to be a serious challenger to Bayern should think again.
Likewise, the other disappointment, by their own recent exalted standards, will be RB Leipzig.
Back-to-back German Cup wins have been terrific but they will now be weakened by the departure of established Bundesliga defensive midfielder Konrad Laimer, snapped up on a free transfer by Bayern.
Laimer has been joined in the departures lounge by Chelsea bound Christopher Nkunku and, possibly, centre back Josko Gvardiol.
Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has also moved.
While manager Marco Rose has done a wonderful job and has, in his ranks, talented striker Benjamin Sesko to pick up the goal-scoring mantle with Nicolas Seiwald providing a tailor-made replacement in central midfield for Laimer, it is a big ask to maintain such levels of consistency when you lose your best players – just ask Dortmund over the last decade.
The 23 year-old Austrian midfielder Christoph Baumgartner has arrived from TSG Hoffenheim to add to the new faces, alongside established figures such as Emil Forsberg, Timo Werner, and Andre Silva.
Red Bull certainly performed as well as anyone in the second half of the campaign and, while there are some high profile outgoings, plenty of the players who took RB Leipzig to the brink of the top spot still remain.
However, I still believe they will struggle to match their achievements of last term.
If so, will it be fair to class them as a disappointment? We will soon see.
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