The suspense is back in Germany.
For 10 seasons now, Bayern Munich has reigned supreme and unchallenged in the Bundesliga.
This year, the situation has changed.
Less convincing on the pitch, Bayern still remained in the race but saw several teams join the fight to come and recover the coveted trophy from them.
To discover
Bundesliga fixtures and results
Bundesliga standings
Rare at this time of year, and unique in the five major championships, the first four teams in the standings are held within four points.
So who seems best equipped to win in this final sprint?
RB Leipzig, for a first
4th with 42 points.
Could this finally be the right year for RB Leipzig?
Although the RedBull-owned club's history in the Bundesliga is recent (promoted in 2016), Leipzig have already failed twice in second place.
This season, Marco Rose's men are relying on a solid defense but above all on effective attackers.
While the injury and absence of Christopher Nkunku, their best player, could have harmed them, they managed to limit the damage with two wins in five matches.
Very solid in their Red Bull Arena (1st in the Bundesliga on home games), they however have more difficulty outside (6th).
If Leizpig want to be champions, they will have to change this stat.
With trips to Dortmund (this Friday at 8:30 p.m.) and Bayern on the penultimate day,
Christopher Nkunku IMAGO/Revierfoto / PANORAMIC
Union Berlin, the surprise
3rd with 43 points.
Is it really a surprise after all?
Not really so much the Union has been progressing for four seasons.
5th last season, the club from the capital has surfed on its good results to establish itself as the hit of the start of the season in Germany.
Despite a slump in October (3 defeats in 4 games), the Berliners revived after the World Cup with a string of successes.
But as evidenced by the heavy defeat in Munich last week (3-0), the Union has limits that it cannot exceed.
The least prolific attack of this quartet (35 goals scored), Urs Fischer's team is also too irregular.
She is able to go and win in Leipzig (2-1) and then get hooked at home against Schalke, bottom of the Bundesliga.
A champion must
Read alsoIn Berlin, unity is strength
Borussia Dortmund, the rival at the height
2nd with 46 points.
The current series is impressive.
Right now, Borussia Dortmund are perhaps Germany's best team on the pitch.
If the title does not go to the yellows and blacks at the end of the season, they could well harbor immense regret over a partly failed first part of the season.
But since the post-World Cup recovery, no one has stopped the Ruhr club.
It's simple, in 2023, the record posted by Edin Terzic and his men is 11 wins in 11 games.
Simply impressive.
To find the crown of champion, Borussia knows what it has to do by maintaining this rhythm.
But Dortmund must above all have set a decisive period: the first two weeks of April.
They will meet, in the space of a week, the
Union Berlin and especially Bayern Munich.
Because yes, in the end everything will still depend on Bayern.
Borussia Dortmund team.
HEIKO BECKER / REUTERS
Bayern Munich, the force of habit
1st with 46 points.
Inevitably, Bayern are favorites for their own succession.
But the Bayern Munich version Julian Nagelsmann is less dominant and gives hope to these pursuers.
Nevertheless, the individuals present in the Munich group are the best in the championship and can change the course of a match at any time.
An advantage that can also be a defect.
If it was the collective that was the main strength of the Bavarians during previous successes, the 2022/2023 vintage depends much more on individual talent.
And when Leroy Sané, Serge Gnabry or Kingsley Coman are in a bad period, the results are felt immediately.
Misforms to which must be added the injury of Sadio Mané, absent for four months.
Fortunately for Nagelsmann, Mané is back and Kingsley Coman seems to be
So the observation is simple, if the Bavarian players find their level and let their experience speak, Bayern should be champions.
The great victory against Union Berlin could serve as a trigger… Unless PSG come to win in Munich and cause trouble at the end of the season for the ten-time German champion.