FC Bayern Munich is only six points ahead of Borussia Dortmund. Will the championship fight in the Bundesliga be exciting again?
The last two weeks have achieved one thing in the Bundesliga. Nobody talks about boredom in the championship race anymore. But it would also be premature to talk about tension. Therefore, the defining theme is couched in one question: Will the championship fight be exciting again?
BVB will only/never become German champions
Borussia Dortmund fans did that on Sunday. “Only BVB will become German champions,” they sang, albeit somewhat smugly, after their team took the lead 1-0 against 1. FC Heidenheim.
When the bottom of the table was leading, they whistled loudly, which translated meant: “BVB will never be German champions.”
Ultimately, Dortmund won with difficulty 3-2. Nico Schlotterbeck then formulated his ambition to become German champion.
Projection of an exciting race
Anyone who sees this as justified will use the so-called form table, which in this case is equivalent to the calendar year table. BVB gained five points in this span with four wins and a draw against FC Bayern; only TSG Hoffenheim was better. That TSG is playing at FC Bayern next Sunday, Bayern, in turn, have to go to Dortmund soon, and that in the “worst crisis” of the season, after a defeat against FC Augsburg and a draw at HSV.
This is the projection of an exciting championship race, and most football fans would like it to work out.
Form table speaks for and against Dortmund
But there are arguments against it, and one of them is the form table. In 2026, Borussia Dortmund played against the five opponents who are in the last five places in the table. Home wins against FC St. Pauli and Heidenheim came with a bang, while Eintracht Frankfurt equalized at the last second. The away win at Union Berlin was played confidently, and the clear home win against Werder was initially unforeseeable.
What – that could now be the question – is only possible at BVB if they play really well? However, the question also arose in the second half of 2025. The short version of the answer is: Borussia very rarely plays really well, such as in the away win in Leverkusen, but they still usually win.
Because Bayern no longer always win, the gap has fallen to six points. But here too we have to put things into perspective, because Munich’s goal difference is +56, Dortmund’s +22.
Finding what speaks for a German champion BVB is difficult.
The squad? No.
The remaining opponents? No.
The burden? Perhaps.
Borussia Dortmund has to play in the second round of the Champions League with two games against Atalanta Bergamo. However, they have already been eliminated from the DFB Cup, in which Bayern will face RB Leipzig on February 11th (live on the first and in the stream). They may only have Bundesliga games from March onwards.
But it could also be that the two leading teams, both of which are already under greater pressure due to the Club World Cup last summer and the large number of national players, will meet in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
It may also be that a completely different question will be raised next weekend: Can TSG Hoffenheim intervene in the championship fight after the game at FC Bayern?
