Before the start of the 2023/2024 Bundesliga season, football fans are not only looking at the fight for the championship and the Champions League. One, two or three categories below also beckon excitement in the upper house.
What are the traditional clubs VfB Stuttgart, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Werder Bremen and 1. FC Köln doing? Eintracht Frankfurt crash? And how are the two promoted teams Darmstadt 98 and 1. FC Heidenheim doing? There are answers in sport.de– Opinion panel on the start of the league.
One of the big traditional clubs (VfB Stuttgart, Gladbach, Werder Bremen, 1. FC Köln) is relegated!
Emmanuel Schneider: Well, Stuttgart is always up for a drama, just like 1. FC Köln. However, this time both should find themselves in the rear midfield. Gladbach is in the midst of upheaval, Werder has the notoriously difficult second year ahead of them. Nevertheless, they should normally have nothing to do with relegation, at least on the 34th matchday. But what is normal anyway?
Jannik Kube: Steffen Baumgart proves at 1. FC Köln that he can get the maximum out of the team. It will therefore be much tighter for Gladbach, VfB Stuttgart and Werder Bremen. In particular, the Hanseatic League urgently need to improve after their weak second half of the season (17th place).
Chris Rohdenburg: The miracle of the Weser does not happen! You almost have to put it that way when you look at Werder Bremen’s horror statistics: only four competitive wins in 2023, 13 times in a row there was not zero. It can’t get any worse. That will be punished in 2023/24.
Heiko Lütkehus: Gladbach is a piñata, but the quality is still enough for the midfield of the league. In Cologne the bloodletting was enormous, but Baumgart’s power football keeps Effzeh in the league. For Stuttgart and Werder, on the other hand, things could get tight: VfB loses too many pillars on the home straight of the transfer window, in Bremen there has been a complete standstill in development since the beginning of the year. And since hopeful Naby Keita is apparently hardly resilient, it will be very, very tight for Werder.
Eintracht Frankfurt sinks into no man’s land of the table!
Emmanuel Schneider: No, because Eintracht Frankfurt is about to have another glorious season – but more likely in the DFB Cup or the Conference League. The SBU can be expected here, even under the new coach Dino Toppmöller, despite any settling-in problems and the integration of new stars (Skhiri, Larsson, Koch) as well as departures from the starting XI (Ndicka, Kamada, Sow). In the league there is actually gray midfield – but with close contact to the European places.
Jannik Kube: Dino Toppmöller faces a big task at Eintracht Frankfurt. Departures like Ndicka, Kamada, Sow have to be replaced first. In addition, it cannot be ruled out that the goalkeeper will change with Kolo Muani. And yet: With this squad, qualifying for the Europa League must be the goal.
Chris Rohdenburg: Frankfurt shows a different face! Recently it was often said: Europe hui, league ugh – so why not the other way around in 2023/24? I think: The SBU is fighting for the honeypots of the established in the House of Lords!
Heiko Lütkehus: Vulture swoop? Eagle Dive! The SBU has a lot of talent, but comparatively little experience – even in the head coach position. In addition, it remains questionable how hot the stars like Mario Götze and Randal Kolo Muani, who came to Frankfurt for the Champions League last year, are about a multiple burden with possible European Cup games in Latvia or Kazakhstan. The squad is easily strong enough for the top half of the table, but it somehow smells like a tough season.
Both climbers manage to stay up!
Emmanuel Schneider: Darmstadt 98 and 1. FC Heidenheim will probably have to serve as the most common tips for relegation. That’s actually logical: Small teams, little budget, no big names. And yet: The Lilien and the Heidenheimer come through the fight, have narrow stadiums that can become a madhouse. Especially Heidenheim and coach fox Frank Schmidt will show intensive speed football, running and sprinting without end. Some (top) teams will falter on the Ostalb and drop points there. It seems unlikely that both will stay in. For me, Heidenheim has the edge.
Jannik Kube: No! It will catch at least one climber. Because there are currently no crisis clubs like Hertha BSC in the Bundesliga. More points than in the previous season should be necessary to stay up. My prognosis: While Heidenheim goes straight down despite a big fight, Darmstadt saves itself in the relegation.
Chris Rohdenburg: The 1st league is a size too big for Heidenheim and Darmstadt! I don’t see how the duo should hold up against the established Bundesliga clubs. As much as I would like a breath of fresh air, especially the one from Heidenheim with cult trainer Frank Schmidt.
Heiko Lütkehus: Heidenheim is the Gallic village of the Bundesliga, which will annoy the Romans, i.e. the established first division clubs. The project has grown organically and will withstand the expected setbacks. The FCH will save itself, if necessary via relegation. Darmstadt, on the other hand, lost a lot of momentum in the back series of the promotion season and recently disappointed in preparation and the cup. The momentum is gone, the quality of the squad is low – the lilies go down at the bottom!