Italian and German 2025/26 Football Preview
The German football league kicks off this Friday, with the 2025/26 Italian season kicking off Saturday evening! Bayern Munich and Napoli are odds favourites to win the league, but there are plenty of teams looking to cause an upset this season. Let’s take a look at the upcoming season in these two massive footballing nations!
Germany – Can anyone stop Bayern Munich?
Bayer Leverkusen won the title in 2023/24, ending what was a streak of 11 league titles in a row for Bayern Munich. The Munich giants managed to win the title again last season, though, with Kane finally lifting a major trophy. The defending champions are massive favourites to win the league again this season at 1.29, with Bayer Leverkusen the closest challengers at 8.20.
It’s hard to imagine anyone causing an upset this season – Bayern Munich simply seem too strong, and the signing of Luis Diaz from Liverpool is an exciting one for the German champions. They have lost a few players as well, with Eric Dier and Leroy Sané both having had their contracts expiring, while Mathys Tel have left for Spurs. Musiala’s injury was a big blow for Bayern Munich as well, but they should still be more than good enough to lift the trophy again at the end of the season.
To win the league:
Bayern Munich – 1.29
Bayer Leverkusen – 8.20
Borussia Dortmund – 11.00
RB Leipzig – 18.00
Looking at the top four, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund are amongst the favourites, with RB Leipzig also expected to compete for the top spots.
Bayer Leverkusen have made quite a few signings this summer, with Mark Flekken arriving from Brentford, Quansah from Liverpool and Malik Tillman from PSV the biggest ones of the bunch. Captain Andrich will have a solid team around him this season as well, with Schick expected to bang in the goals again up front. Grimaldo will be a key player again, while the Bayer Leverkusen supporters will be hoping new signing Malik Tillman continues where he left off at PSV, where the American striker scored 12 goals in 26 league matches last season. Interestingly, the forward was born in Germany and spent his youth career at rivals Bayern Munich.
Borussia Dortmund sold Jamie Gittens to Chelsea and Moukoko to Copenhagen, while Yan Couto and Daniel Svensson have been brought in. They’re a difficult team to predict, but one would expect them to compete for the top 4 spots once again this season.
To Finish Top 4:
Bayern Munich – 1.01
Bayer Leverkusen – 1.18
Borussia Dortmund – 1.26
RB Leipzig – 1.78
Eintracht Frankfurt – 3.60
When it comes to the bottom of the standings, Heidenheim and St. Pauli are the odds favourites to go down. The former managed to stay up last season after winning the playoff match against surprise team Elversberg, while Köln and HSV are back and are given a bit more of chance to stay up than both Heidenheim and St. Pauli.
Which teams will go down this season? It’s too early to tell, but we’re sure there will be plenty of drama both at the top and at the bottom of the German league once again!
To be Relegated:
Heidenheim – 1.90
St. Pauli – 2.30
Köln – 4.00
HSV – 4.00
Augsburg – 4.50
Read Part 1 of our PL Preview here.
Read Part 2 of our PL Preview here.
Read Part 3 of our PL Preview here.
Read our preview of the French and Spanish league here.
Another league title for Conte?
Napoli won their second ‘Scudetto’ in only 3 years last season, and despite rumours of Conte leaving, he is still in Naples, looking to steer his team to back-to-back league titles. Napoli are current odds favourites to lift the trophy, with Inter the closest challengers, followed by Juventus and AC Milan.
The champions have made a few moves on the transfer market, with the acquisition of Kevin De Bruyne on a free transfer quite possibly one of the most exciting signings of the season in Italy. The former Man City player should fit in well in Italy, and his partnership with last season’s Player of the Year in Italy, Scott McTominay, should bring plenty of magical moments to the Napoli supporters. Defender Miguel Gutiérrez has arrived from Girona, while Noa Lang was signed from PSV. Their biggest and most important sale was Giacomo Rasparodi to Atlético Madrid, with Osimhen already “out the door” before this season’s actual sale of him to Galatasaray.
One worry for Conte is Lukaku’s injury, with the Belgian ruled out for about 3+ months with an injury, but there is also time for Napoli to make another move on the market for a replacement.
It’s been a very quite summer for both Inter and Juventus. The former have picked up Ange-Yoan Bonny from Parma, while Zalewski was sold to Atalanta and Arnautovic was released. Juventus picked up Jonathan David on a free transfer and signed Joao Mario from Porto, while Muani’s loan ended and Timothy Weah was loaned out to Monaco with an obligation to buy.
AC Milan have picked up several players, including Luka Modric, Ardon Jashari, Koni De Winter, Pervis Estupinan and Samuele Ricci, but they will miss Tijjani Reijnders in midfield, with the Dutch player having been sold to Man City this summer.
There are also excitement in Rome, with Gasperini having left Atalanta for AS Roma, and the capital club will be hoping to fight for a spot in the CL again this season.
To win the league:
Napoli – 2.60
Inter – 3.65
Juventus – 6.00
AC Milan – 6.40
Napoli and Inter seem like the only real frontrunners to win the league, but the fight for a top 4 spot is very interesting again this season in Italy. Roma under Gasperini could become dangerous, and considering what he did at Atalanta, it is easy to understand the optimism in the Italian capital. Dybala is staying, and they’ve signed Neil El Aynaoui from Lens and Wesley from Flamengo, as well as securing the loans of Evan Ferguson and Daniele Ghilardi. The former has been impressive in pre-season, and Dovbyk might struggle to get the game time he is looking for if the young Irish striker finds his place in the Italian capital.
Atalanta have lost their manager, and the hiring of Juric as his replacement seems underwhelming, to say the least. We predict Napoli, Inter and Juventus to secure a top 4 finish, whilst the last spot will probably fall to AC Milan or Roma, with the latter looking like a team that could cause an upset this season if they hit the ground running.
To Finish Top 4:
Napoli – 1.22
Inter – 1.33
Juventus – 1.57
AC Milan – 1.58
AS Roma – 2.38
Sassuolo are back in the top division, but they’re also one of the teams predicted to struggle this season, and they might even get involved in the relegation battle once again. The Serie B champions last season will be hoping to bring their momentum into the new season, though, and there are other teams more likely to go down than the ‘Neroverdi’.
Cremonese, who secured promotion via playoff, are the favourites to go down, with Pisa, Verona and Lecce following suit. How many of the newly promoted sides will manage to stay up this season?
To be Relegated:
Cremonese – 1.60
Pisa – 1.72
Verona – 2.25
Lecce – 3.00
Sassuolo – 3.00
Last Updated: 20.08.2025
Odds might have changed since the writing and/or publication of this article.
