The Italian and German 2025/26 Season Preview
Napoli and Bayern Munich are hoping to defend their title this season in Italy and Germany, respectively. The Italian top division and German top league kick off this weekend, with plenty of big games to look forward to. Will we get any big upsets in the 2025/26 season? Let’s take a closer look at what we can expect from the upcoming campaign!
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.
The German League
Favourites to win title: Bayern Munich (1.29), Bayer Leverkusen (8.20), Borussia Dortmund (11.00), RB Leipzig (18.00) and Eintracht Frankfurt (50.00)
Relegation favourites: Heidenheim (1.90), St. Pauli (2.30), Köln (4.00), Hamburger SV (4.00) and Augsburg (4.00)
As our odds imply, chances are very small that anyone can overtake Bayern Munich at the top of the standings this season, with the defending champions massive odds favourites to win the title back-to-back. After losing out on the title in 2023/24, when Bayer Leverkusen seemed unbeatable and won the league, Harry Kane finally managed to win the league as Bayern Munich cruised to victory in the top division.
Bayer Leverkusen are considered their biggest rivals this season, with Borussia Dortmund looking slightly inconsistent over the last few years. Eintracht Frankfurt overtook Borussia Dortmund in the standings last season, securing 3rd spot behind champions Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen (2nd).
Luis Diaz’ arrival at Bayern Munich is an exciting one, and the Colombian will be hoping to hit the ground running for the defending champions as they host RB Leipzig in the opener on Friday. The newly arrived attacker could be a pivotal part of this team in the 25/26 season, especially considering the absence of Musiala with injury.
Although we don’t expect anyone to stop Bayern Munich from winning the title again, there are certainly teams that could cause an upset, just like Bayer Leverkusen did in 23/24. It’s more likely however that Bayern Munich’s rivals will simply be competing for the top 4 spots.
Bayer Leverkusen have made some interesting signings this summer, with Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), Mark Flekken (Brentford) and Malik Tillman (PSV) arriving, whilst Borussia Dortmund will have to do without Jamie Gittens, who has left for Chelsea. We predict Bayer Leverkusen to grab 2nd spot, while we suspect RB Leipzig will fight it out with Eintracht Frankfurt for the 3rd spot and Borussia Dortmund getting involved as well.
Heidenheim, St. Pauli and Köln are amongst the unfortunate favourites to go down this season, with HSV and Augsburg also in real danger of dropping out of the top division.
The top scorer favourite is, unsurprisingly, Harry Kane, with Guirassy and Schick his closest challengers.
Check out our outrights on the German league here.
The Italian League
Favourites to win title: Napoli (2.60), Inter (3.65), Juventus (6.00), AC Milan (6.40) and Roma (11.00)
Relegation favourites: Cremonese (1.60), Pisa (1.72), Verona (2.25), Lecce (3.00) and Sassuolo (3.00)
Unlike in Germany, where Bayern Munich are massive favourites, things look a little bit more unpredictable in the Italian top division. Napoli, the current champions, are odds favourites, but at 2.60 they are not that big favourites ahead of Inter at 3.65.
Kevin De Bruyne’s arrival in Naples is an exciting one, and it will be interesting to see how he links up with his former Manchester rival McTominay. Lukaku suffered a long-term injury recently, and will be out for 3+ months, and this paired with the sale of Raspadori will cause some worry for manager Conte. They did sign winger Noa Lang from PSV, who should be able to chip in with a few goals.
Inter were looking strong last season, but lost out both in the league and in the CL final in the end, and they’ll be desperate to get back to winning ways this season. They’ve not made waves in the transfer market, but the team is still very strong, and they’re expected to fight for the title yet again, with Juventus and AC Milan given slightly higher odds.
AC Milan have been inconsistent the last few seasons, and they still seem to be “finding their way” a bit squad-wise. The signing of Luka Modric is an interesting one, though AC Milan do have a history of signing older players, and the tempo in Italy could suit the Croatian magician. The sale of Reijnders to Man City is a huge loss for them, however, and we predict they’ll struggle to manage top 4 this season, mainly due to Roma picking up Gasperini from Atalanta.
Roma are notoriously unpredictable, but they are looking like a potential surprise team this year, with Gasperini the type of manager that could get the most out of players like Dybala, Soulé, El Shaarawy and Manu Koné.
Newly promoted Cremonese and Pisa are favourites to go straight back down again, with Verona, Lecce, Sassuolo and Cagliari the other teams most likely to end up in relegation trouble. Inter striker Lautaro Martinez is the favourite to become top goalscorer, ahead of Moise Kean, Jonathan David and Marcus Thuram.
Check out all our outrights on the Italian league here.
Last updated: 20.08.25
Odds might have changed since the writing and/or publication of this article.
