After a long wait, the Bundesliga finally makes its return this summer and it will be a welcome relief for German football fans after the failure of the Germany squad at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Many will be wondering if this is the season that someone finally manages to topple the supremacy of Bayern Munich. The rest will laugh off such delusions. But even if the status quo at the top remains, there’s European places to be won and the dreaded drop to be avoided.

In the first part of our season preview, we look at last season’s lower-half finishers – Hertha BSC, Werder Bremen, FC Augsburg, Hannover 96, 1. FSV Mainz 05, SC Freiburg and VfL Wolfsburg, as well as the newly-promoted pair of Fortuna Düsseldorf and 1. FC Nürnberg.

Hertha BSC

Last season: 10th

Manager: Pál Dárdai

Pre-season friendlies: RSV Eintracht 1949 (7-0 W), SC Westfalia Herne (2-0 W), MSV Duisburg (1-0 W), MSV Neuruppin (9-1 W), FK Dukla Prague (3-2 W), Atalanta (3-2 L), FC Liefering (4-1 W), Aiginiakos (7-0 W), Hallescher FC (4-1 W)

DFB-Pokal First Round: 2-1 win vs Eintracht Braunschweig

Opening game: Home to Nürnberg (25 August)

Transfers in: Valentino Lazaro (Red Bull Salzburg), Javairô Dilrosun (Manchester City U23), Lukas Klünter (1. FC Köln), Pascal Köpke (Erzgebirge Aue), Marko Grujić (Liverpool, loan)

Transfers out: Mitchell Weiser (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Schieber (Augsburg), Genki Haraguchi (Hannover), Nils Körber (VfL Osnabrück, loan), Maximilian Pronichev (Aue, loan)

The pressures of a failed campaign in Europe helped to stop the upward moment of die Alte Dame under Dárdai, but they rarely slipped much lower than their eventual finishing position of tenth, sitting comfortably in mid-table for the majority of the season.

It’s difficult to foresee things being any worse this time around. Their new signings have been unspectacular but all have the potential to be big hits, with the signings of Dilrosun and Grujić particularly interesting. The latter, on loan from Liverpool, may even start the opening game against Nürnberg despite only joining training this week. Klünter has also shown promise for Köln whilst Köpke provides another option up top, especially with Davie Selke out for the first couple of months of the season.

Weiser is the only notable departure, meaning that Dárdai will be under no pressure to bed in the new faces straight away, and that should stand them in good stead, especially in the early stages of the season, to push for a third top half finish in four years, provided that last year’s plateau was only a temporarily blip.

Werder Bremen

Last season: 11th

Manager: Florian Kohfeldt

Pre-season friendlies: FC Eintracht Cuxhaven (8-0 W), OSC Bremerhaven (5-0 W), 1. FK Příbram (1-1 D), Duisburg (1-0 W), Köln (1-0 L), Rot-Weiss Essen (1-0 L), Huddersfield Town (1-0 W), Arminia Bielefeld (1-0 W), FC Groningen (0-0 D), VVV-Venlo (1-1 D), Villarreal (3-2 L)

DFB-Pokal First Round: 6-1 win vs VfR Wormatia Worms

Opening game: Home to Hannover (25 August)

Transfers in: Kevin Möhwald (Nürnberg), Yuya Osako (Köln), Martin Harnik (Hannover), Felix Beijmo (Djurgårdens IF), Jan-Niklas Beste (Borussia Dortmund U19), Davy Klaassen (Everton), Claudio Pizarro (Köln), Stefanos Kapino (Nottingham Forest)

Transfers out: László Kleinheisler (FC Astana), Sambou Yatabaré (Royal Antwerp), Zlatko Junuzović (Salzburg), Leon Guwara (FC Utrecht), Thomas Delaney (Dortmund), Jérôme Gondorf (Freiburg), Justin Eilers (Apollon Smyrnis), Ulisses Garcia (BSC Young Boys), Robert Bauer (Nürnberg, loan), Lennart Thy (Büyükşehir Belediye Erzurumspor), Niklas Schmidt (SV Wehen Wiesbaden, loan), Fallou Diagne (Konyaspor)

Last season took an almost clichéd feel. An awful start, which resulted in the current boss being replaced by the young coach of the under 23. He did enough to earn a permanent appointment, and Bremen flourished in the spring to turn attentions from battling relegation to dreams of Europe that never quite came to pass. That was the story of 2016-17 just as much as it was of 2017-18, although the revival wasn't quite so dramatic this time around.

But can Kohfeldt succeed where Alexander Nouri failed and take Bremen to the next level? There are reasons to be optimistic on the Weser. No matter how much he struggled in England, Klaassen was a glamour signing suited to an upwardly-mobile club, whilst they are so bursting with attacking options that the re-signing of Pizarro is more a sentimental luxury than a necessity.

If they can avoid the early-season blues that have seen both of their previous head coaches, than a return to Europe after nearly a decade could well be possible. They are more reliable at the back then they have been in recent years, with Jiří Pavlenka a top class goalkeeper. Further forward meanwhile, there will be goals if they can find the right combination around new skipper Max Kruse. All being well, this will be their best season for some time.

FC Augsburg

Last season: 12th

Manager: Manuel Baum

Pre-season friendlies: SC Austria Lustenau (1-1 D), Würzburger Kickers (2-0 W), Middlesbrough (2-1 W), Sportclub Olching (3-0 W), Borussia Mönchengladbach (2-1 L), Newcastle United (1-0 W), Athletic Club (1-0 L)

DFB-Pokal First Round: 2-1 win vs TSV Steinbach Haiger

Opening game: Away at Düsseldorf (25 August)

Transfers in: Schieber (Hertha), André Hahn (Hamburger SV), Felix Götze (Bayern Munich), Fredrik Jensen (FC Twente)

Transfers out: Ioannis Gelios (FC Hansa Rostock), Gojko Kačar (Anorthosis Famagusta), Marwin Hitz (Dortmund), Moritz Leitner (Norwich City), Daniel Opare (Antwerp), Marcel Heller (SV Darmstadt 98), Takashi Usami (Düsseldorf, loan), Tim Rieder (Darmstadt, loan), Shawn Parker (SpVgg Greuther Fürth)

Augsburg seem perennial pre-season contenders to go down, but it’s been a while since they’ve been in a genuine relegation dog-fight. Last year was little different, and if they had won more than two games in their last 13 games, they would have ended up a lot higher in the table than they eventually did.

Losing Hitz is of course a blow, leaving Andreas Luthe and Fabian Giefer to battle it out over who plays in goal, but much will be unchanged in front of them this season. Philipp Max is one of the most dangerous players in the league, despite being a left-back, and will have a point to prove having been snubbed by Joachim Löw so far. Further forward, Alfreð Finnbogason will hope to add to his tally of goals last season, despite currently being injured. He’ll have plenty of support too, especially with Hahn returning to his spiritual home.

There is little cause to believe that Augsburg will struggle this season, and if some of the bigger clubs struggle there could even launch another challenge for European football, but mid-table seems to be the most likely destination once again for Baum’s men.

Hannover 96

Last season: 13th

Manager: André Breitenreiter

Pre-season friendlies: Eiderstedt-Auswahl (14-0 W), SV Ramlingen-Ehlershausen (7-0 W), TSV Havelse (4-0), FSV Wacker 90 Nordhausen (2-0 W), PEC Zwolle (3-1 W), Wolfsberger AC (3-2 L), Udinese (5-1 W), Udinese (2-1 W), Athletic Club (2-0 W)

DFB-Pokal First Round: 6-0 win vs Karlsruher SC

Opening game: Away at Bremen (25 August)

Transfers in: Josip Elez (HNK Rijeka), Leo Weinkauf (Bayern II), Takuma Asano (Arsenal, loan), Kevin Wimmer (Stoke City, loan), Genki Haraguchi (Hertha), Walace (Hamburg), Bobby Wood (Hamburg, loan)

Transfers out: Elias Huth (1. FC Kaiserslautern), Felix Klaus (Wolfsburg), Salif Sané (Schalke 04), Charlison Benschop (FC Ingolstadt 04), Kenan Karaman (Düsseldorf), Harnik (Bremen), Sebastian Maier (VfL Bochum), Florian Hübner (1. FC Union Berlin), Manuel Schmiedebach (Union Berlin, loan), Jonathas (Corinthians, loan)

Making their return to the Bundesliga after a year away, a strong start last season gave Hannover the credit in the bank they needed to avoid any serious concerns over possible relegation. Their strong home form helped as way but an unremarkable squad did struggle at times, including a five-game losing streak in the early spring.

Klaus, Sané and Harnik are all big loses, and a lot of their new faces all struggled with their old clubs last season, including the Hamburg duo of Walace and Wood, plus Stoke’s Wimmer, with all three suffering relegation with their clubs. They have kept last season’s top scorer Niclas Füllkrug though, despite strong interest from Gladbach, with speculation that he’s on the verge of signing a new deal.

Any sort of drop off from last season will see Hannover fighting to avoid a return to the 2. Bundesliga, meaning Breitenreiter will face a big test of his coaching skills to get the best out his side. Another 15 goals from Füllkrug would serve them well and they will hope young talents like Ihlas Bebou can take off as well.

1. FSV Mainz 05

Last season: 14th

Manager: Sandro Schwarz

Pre-season friendlies: DJK SV Phönix Schifferstadt (12-0 W), Rhein-Nahe Auswahl (10-0 W), VfB Ginsheim (5-1 W), KFC Uerdingen 05 (2-1 W), Royal Charleroi Sporting Club (2-0 W), Köln (5-3 L), West Ham United (1-1, lost on penalties), Athletic Club (0-0, won on penalties), Fiorentina (0-0, lost on penalties), Celta de Vigo (2-1 W)

DFB-Pokal First Round: 3-1 win vs Aue

Opening game: Home to VfB Stuttgart (26 August)

Transfers in: Phillipp Mwene (Kaiserslautern), Jean-Philippe Mateta (Olympique Lyonnais), Pierre Kunde (Atlético Madrid), Moussa Niakhaté (FC Metz), Aarón Martin (Espanyol, loan)

Transfers out: Jonas Lössl (Huddersfield), Suat Serdar (Schalke), Leon Balogun (Brighton & Hove Albion), Marin Sverko (Karlsruhe, loan), Abdou Diallo (Dortmund), Kenan Kodro (FC Copenhagen), Nigel de Jong (Al Ahli SC), Yoshinori Muto (Newcastle), Aaron Seydel (Holstein Kiel, loan)

Mainz were perhaps fortunate that there were worse teams than them in the league last season. They spent most of the Rückrunde in the play-off spot, and couldn’t string two wins together until the matchdays 32 and 33, although those wins over RB Leipzig and Dortmund were enough to keep them up, although they finished with their worst points tally since they went down under Jürgen Klopp in 2007.

Nevertheless, they didn’t panic into sacking Schwarz and they clearly thing enough of him to give him a second crack. It won’t be any easier though. Serdar, Balogun and Muto will all be missed, whilst there are several injury concerns already. They will be hoping their new players will take off, although Niakhaté couldn’t have had a worst start, getting sent off in three minutes in the cup against Aue.

Alexandru Maxim had one of his better days in that game, scoring twice, and a good season from the Romanian will help their cause. 20-year-old Ridle Baku will be one to watch after he burst onto the scene late last season, scoring twice in his first three league games for the club. It will be tough for him, and the other youngsters, to thrive if Mainz struggle though.

SC Freiburg

Last season: 15th

Manager: Christian Streich

Pre-season friendlies: FC Waldkirch (15-0 W), SC Lahr (8-2 W), Kehler FV (7-1 W), TuS Efringen-Kirchen (14-2 W), FC Ravensburg (9-1 W), Swansea City (3-0 W), Regio-Auswahl (2-1 W), RC Strasbourg Alsace (3-2 L), Real Sociedad (1-1 D)

DFB-Pokal First Round: 5-3 win on penalties (after 2-2 draw AET) vs Energie Cottbus

Opening game: Home to Eintracht Frankfurt (25 August)

Transfers in: Mark Flekken (Duisburg), Dominique Heintz (Köln), Luca Waldschmidt (Hamburg), Philipp Lienhart (Real Madrid), Gondorf (Bremen), Brandon Borrello (Kaiserslautern)

Transfers out: Julian Schuster (retired), Marc Oliver Kempf (Stuttgart), Georg Nierdermeier (Melbourne Victory), Fabian Schleusener (SV Sandhausen, loan), Mats Møller Dæhli (FC St. Pauli), Rafal Gikiewicz (Union Berlin), Jonas Fohrenbach (SSV Jahn Regensburg¸ loan), Aleksandar Ignjovski (1. FC Magdeburg), Mohamed Dräger (SC Paderborn 07, loan), Karim Guédé (Sandhausen), Lucas Hufnagel (SpVgg Unterhaching), Vincent Sierro (FC St. Gallen, loan), Patric Klandt (Nürnberg), Jonas Meffert (Kiel), Caglar Söyüncü (Leicester City)

After surprisingly qualifying for Europe in their first season back in the Bundesliga, last season was always going to see a drop-off, especially after losing several key players. In the end they did well to stay up, finishing just above the relegation play-off place, with the goals of Nils Petersen crucial for maintaining their Bundesliga status.

There was never any question of replacing Streich, a cult favourite and the longest-serving coach in the league. It is easy to see last season as a hangover from the one before, and with some canny new recruits brought in over the summer to freshen up the team, they will be confident of being closer to mid-table security this time around.

To do so though, they have to tighten up at the back, and handle the departures of Kempf and Söyüncü at the same time. They cannot depend entirely on the goals of Petersen, with Waldschmidt, Janik Haberer and the fit-again Florian Niederlechner needed to take their share of the responsibility. If they fail in those key goals, as well as rectifying their awful away form, they could very easily drop out of the league again.

VfL Wolfsburg

Last season: 16th (won play-off)

Manager: Bruno Labbadia

Pre-season friendlies: Veltins-Auswahl (8-1 W), KSV Baunatal (7-0 W), Lupo Martini Wolfsburg (3-0 W), Norwich (1-1 D), Lyon (2-1 L), AFC Ajax (3-0 W), Napoli (3-1 W)

DFB-Pokal First Round: 1-0 win vs SV Elversberg

Opening game: Home to Schalke (25 August)

Transfers in: Marcel Tisserand (Ingolstadt), Klaus (Hannover), Pavao Pervan (LASK Linz), Wout Weghorst (AZ Alkmaar), Daniel Ginczek (Stuttgart), Jérôme Roussillon (HSC Montpellier)

Transfers out: Max Grün (released), Daniel Didavi (Stuttgart), Landry Dimata (RSC Anderlecht, loan), Victor Osimhen (Charleroi, loan)

With Hamburg out of the way, Wolfsburg are in prime position to become the league’s biggest perpetual crisis club. It is still only three years since they finished second and won the DFB-Pokal, two since pushing Real Madrid all the way in an UEFA Champions League quarter-final, but they finished the last campaign facing a play-off for their Bundesliga survival for a second year in a row.

Labbadia guided them to victory against Kiel, but beforehand he hadn’t been much more effective than Andries Jonker or Martin Schmidt before him. Above him, Jörg Schmadtke and club legend Marcel Schäfer have been installed in administrative roles, and between the three of them it will be interesting to see if things will be any different this year.

Excluding Tiseerand, who are already been on loan, Ginczek is the only new signing that isn’t an unknown quantity in German football, and they will be hoping he will give them the goalscorer they so desperately lacked last season, even before Mario Gómez left, despite his injury problems and modest recent record. Others, most significantly Maximilian Arnold, will know more is expected of them as well. Will they avoid the bottom three this year? Possibly, but not many are convinced.

Fortuna Düsseldorf

Last season: 1st (2. Bundesliga)

Manager: Friedhelm Funkel

Pre-season friendlies: Sportfreunde Eisbachtal (9-1 W), VfB Wissen (10-0 W), TSV Meerbusch (9-0 W), FC Wegberg-Beeck (5-0 W), Watford (3-1 L), Al-Hilal (2-0 W), Fiorentina (1-1 D), FC Remscheid (8-0 W), NEC (3-0 W), VfL Benrath 06 (13-0 W)

DFB-Pokal First Round: 5-0 win vs TuS Rot-Weiss Koblenz

Opening game: Home to Augsburg (25 August)

Transfers in: Benito Raman (Standard Liège), Alfredo Morales (Ingolstadt), Jean Zimmer (Stuttgart), Karaman (Hannover), Diego Contento (Girondins de Bordeaux), Kevin Stöger (Bochum), Aymen Barkok (Frankfurt, loan), Marvin Ducksch (St. Pauli), Davor Lovren (Dinamo Zagreb II), Matthias Zimmermann (Stuttgart), Dodi Lukebaki (Watford, loan), Takashi Usami (Augsburg, loan)

Transfers out: Kemal Rüzgar (Altinordu), Jerome Kiesewetter (released), Julian Schauerte (KAS Eupen), Axel Bellinghausen (retired), Lukas Schmitz (Wolfsberger AC), Marlon Ritter (Paderborn), Emmanuel Iyoha (Aue, loan), Justin Toshiki Kinjo (Thespakusatsu Gunma)

Not many people were tipping Düsseldorf for promotion last season but Funkel and his team got the balance right as, along with fellow Bundesliga newcomers Nürnberg, they proved to be one of the best and most consistent teams in the league to return to the top flight after five years away. They won the second-tier title in dramatic fashion though, beating Der Club in the final day showing with a stoppage time goal from Kaan Ayhan.

It is little secret that they are operating with one of the smallest budgets in the league but they have strengthened their side smartly. Raman, Zimmer and Lovren have now signed permanently after loan spells last year, whilst Usami is back for another. They have signed some of the best performers in the 2. Liga last year in Stöger and Ducksch, the league’s top scorer whilst on loan with Kiel. Lukebaki looks a promising performer for them as well.

Do they have enough to survive though? They certainly have flair, and a strong team spirit, and often the latter can be enough. Most sides who survive in their first season in the Bundesliga are those that bounced back within a year or two, and it will be a big step up for side without huge amounts of Bundesliga experience. Düsseldorf look as likely as anyone to go down, but they have the talent to avoid that fate.

1. FC Nürnberg

Last season: 2nd (2. Bundesliga)

Manager: Michael Köllner

Pre-season friendlies: FSV Erlangen-Bruck (5-2 W), SV Seligenporten (3-0 W), Halle (2-1 L), Regionalauswahl (4-0 W), Würzburg (4-0 W), TSV 1860 Rosenheim (4-1 W), Bologna (1-0 L), Real Valladolid (1-0 W)

DFB-Pokal First Round: 2-1 win vs SV Linx

Opening game: Away at Hertha (25 August)

Transfers in: Törles Knöll (Hamburg II), Kevin Goden (Köln U19), Christian Mathenia (Hamburg), Timothy Tillmann (Bayern II, loan), Bauer (Bremen, loan), Klandt (Freiburg), Yuya Kubo (KAA Gent, loan)

Transfers out: Möhwald (Bremen), Laszlo Sepsi (released), Miso Brecko (released), Enis Alushi (released), Thorsten Kirschbaum (Leverkusen)

Nürnberg are back in the Bundesliga, again. Germany’s ultimate yo-yo club are back after a four-year spell in the second tier for a ninth separate spell in the top flight. They suffered the usual blip after losing the Relegation play-off with Frankfurt two years ago, but after Köllner came into ensure they avoided going the other way, he proved to be the man to lead them back to the promise land as they finished second in his first full season in charge.

Unsurprisingly, many are tipping them to suffer a record ninth relegation, and there does seem to be doubt over whether they are equipped well enough to survive, especially as they are not financially strong enough to have been able to make any high-profile signings. Mathenia and Bauer do add some Bundesliga experience though, whilst Ondřej Petrák is the sole survivor from the 2013-14 relegation season.

Most of the squad have been solid performers in the 2. Bundesliga, and if Enrico Valentini can prove as effective on the wing, Mikael Ishak can rediscover the scoring form he had before getting injured in February and the entire squad can prove to be greater than the sum of the parts, they’ll have every chance of staying up. It’s likely to be an almighty scrap, however.

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