Bayern Munich is the soccer betting favorites to win the German Bundesliga championship for a fifth consecutive time in 2016-17. And Borussia Dortmund, who have been chasing Bayern since 2012 – when Dortmund won their last title – and finished second in each of the previous four seasons, are accordingly the second favorite of people who bet on soccer.
Odds to Win 2016-2017 German Bundesliga:
• Bayer Leverkusen +3350
• Bayern Munich -595
• Borussia Dortmund +555
• Borussia Monchengladbach +10000
• Eintracht Frankfurt +65100
• FC Augsburg +65120
• FC Ingolstadt +65150
• FC Koln +65150
• Hamburg SV +65100
• Hertha Berlin +65000
• Mainz +60000
• RB Leipzig +50000
• SC Freiburg +65150
• Schalke 04 +8050
• SV Darmstadt +10000
• TSG Hoffenheim +65100
• VfL Wolfsburg +7050
• Werder Bremen +65100
The 2016-17 season will be Bayern Munich’s first with new head coach Carlo Ancellotti. The Italian manager came on board to take the reins from the departing Josep Guardiola (currently with Premier League’s Manchester City). Ancellotti is among the very few European-born managers to record an increasing winning percentage with each subsequent club managed (41.46% with Reggiana; 48.28% with Parma; 55.26% with Juventus; 56.26% with Milan; 61.47% with Chelsea; 63.64% with Paris Saint-Germain; and 74.79% with Real Madrid). That certainly bodes well for Bayern’s soccer betting chances. The 57 year old strategist has also won domestic championships everywhere he has been a manager, which bodes well for Bayern’s title aspirations as well.
In addition to Ancellotti, Chairman of the Vorstand Karl-Heinz Rummenigge can be credited with bringing in Portuguese midfielder Renato Sanches, and bringing back German center defender Mats Hummels. Sanches – who has been compared, as has compared himself, to such former Dutch stars are Edgar Davis and Clarence Seedorf – played with Benfica before becoming the most expensive
Portuguese player to leave the Primeira Liga. Hummels made his bones with Dortmund between 2006 and the present day, but he came through the Bayern Munich youth academy and, like the prodigal son, has returned to where he truly belongs. Additionally, the Reds have retained the services of such key players as Manuel Neuer, Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Xabi Alonso, Philipp Lahm, Robert Lewandowski, and Thomas Mueller.
And speaking of Dortmund, the Yellow and Black Attack (not related to Stryper) figured what’s good for the gans is good for the gänserich, and just up and stole a couple of Bayern guys; namely, midfielders Sebastian Rode and Mario Götze – who, to be fair, did start his career in Dortmund. As mentioned above, Die Borussen has been a runner-up to Bayern for the past straight years, most recently last season, when they finished 10 points behind the champions, with 24 wins, 6 draws, 4 losses, and 82 goals for and 34 against.
Five-and-twenty of those goals were scored by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who, to the relief of Dortmund soccer betting fans, is signed until 2020. Though, to really drive home the notion of Dortmund being only second-best to Bayern, the French-born Gabonese striker fell short to Lewandowski’s 30 – though Aubameyang ended up being named Bundesliga Player of the year.