In November, Bayern Munich expanded its lead at the top table, led by Harry Kane’s 14 goals. The middle of the table is tighter than ever, where the difference between third and twelfth is a mere six points. The bigger clubs have wriggled to the upper parts of the table, but the staying power is tenuous at best.
This series will recap each team’s performance and rank the Bundesliga teams on a monthly basis. The ranking system is based on the quality of performances, opponents, and recent matches.
1) Bayern Munich
Previous Ranking: 1
Bundesliga Results: WWWWW
Bayern has been one of Europe’s hottest teams over the past month, winning five consecutive Bundesliga matches with 16 goals and five clean sheets. The rest of the league has stumbled but Bayern has simply improved. It will take a special effort to hand Vincent Kompany his first Bundesliga loss.
2) Eintracht Frankfurt
Previous Ranking: 5
Bundesliga Results: LDWWW
Frankfurt has soared up the table with the team’s potent attack, led by Omar Marmoush’s 11 Bundesliga goals are second only to Harry Kane. Besides a pair of matchups against RB Leipzig, Frankfurt is licking its chops ahead of a favorable holiday schedule.
3) Bayer Leverkusen
Previous Ranking: 3
Bundesliga Results: WDDDW
Despite only losing one Bundesliga match this season, Xabi Alonso’s squad has failed to find the late game magic that headlined their title campaign. This squad has plenty of time and talent to catch fire and wreck the rest of the league, but it needs to do a better job keeping pace with Bayern.
4) Borussia Mönchengladbach
Previous Ranking: 10
Bundesliga Results: WDWDW
After a dreadful start to the season, Gladbach has found its mojo. Wins over Heidenheim, Werder Bremen, and St. Pauli won’t impress the average fan, but Gladbach’s gritty performances against RB Leipzig and Frankfurt tell a different story.
5) Borussia Dortmund
Previous Ranking: 9
Bundesliga Results: WLWLW
Dortmund’s season has been defined by the inability to produce the same result in consecutive matches. How can wins against RB Leipzig and Freiburg bookend a horrific loss to Mainz? Nuri Şahin needs to establish some consistency if he wants to keep his job or even qualify for the Champions League next season.
6) RB Leipzig
Previous Ranking: 2
Bundesliga Results: WWLDL
After a hot start to the season that saw Leipzig claim six clean sheets in the first seven matchdays, Leipzig has conceded goals and points in three of the last four Bundesliga games. Leipzig are still third in the table, but the downward trend needs to be reversed quickly as the race for Champions League spots remains narrow.
7) Mainz
Previous Ranking: 13
Bundesliga Results: LDDWW
Mainz’s season has been the epitome of average but have found seven points in the last three matches. The win against Dortmund was particularly juicy as they took full advantage of playing up a man for the final 63 minutes. Bo Henriksen has Mainz trending in the right direction but will be tasked with finding new ways to score with a limited roster.
8) Wolfsburg
Previous Ranking: 15
Bundesliga Results: LDDWW
Wolfsburg’s front loaded schedule shoved them down the table after losses to Bayern, Frankfurt, and Leverkusen. Since their schedule softened up a bit, Wolfsburg is on a five-game undefeated streak and is catching Leipzig at a vulnerable time.
9) Werder Bremen
Previous Ranking: 7
Bundesliga Results: WDLWL
Bremen hasn’t shied away from the bigger German clubs but the high risk, high reward hasn’t paid off yet. Despite being 12th in the table, Bremen is only two points behind 6th-placed Gladbach.
10) Union Berlin
Previous Ranking: 4
Bundesliga Results: WDLDL
Union Berlin’s fierce defensive approach has been effective this season, but only St. Pauli has scored less goals this season. The recent gauntlet continues against Leverkusen and Stuttgart before Union Berlin gets a chance to earn some wins.
11) Freiburg
Previous Ranking: 6
Bundesliga Results: WLDDL
Freiburg’s quick start cooled off with two losses and two scoreless draws in the last four games. Freiburg’s offense needs a jumpstart if wants to slide into one of the European competitions next season.
12) Stuttgart
Previous Ranking: 8
Bundesliga Results: LWDLW
After a shocking second place finish last season, a lot of Bayern fans are rooting for Seb Hoeneß but he’s struggled to deliver in the bigger games this season. Stuttgart might have the most favorable December schedule and cannot afford to drop points until the mid-January game versus Leipzig.
13) Augsburg
Previous Ranking: 12
Bundesliga Results: LWDDL
Augsburg won consecutive matches against Dortmund and Schalke after switching to a 5-3-2 but then immediately abandoned the formation in favor of a three-back system. Despite the shell strategy, Augsburg only boasts one clean sheet performance in the Bundesliga.
14) Hoffenheim
Previous Ranking: 11
Bundesliga Results: WDLDW
Hoffenheim is struggling mightily to balance the English weeks while playing in the Europa League. They’ve managed to stop the bleeding from the four-game losing streak, but Oliver Baumann can only do so much. The 4-3 Leipzig was an outlier after Hoffenheim went scoreless during the previous three matches.
15) St. Pauli
Previous Ranking: 16
Bundesliga Results: LDWLL
St. Pauli’s backline is doing everything it can to stay out of the relegation zone, but the lack of a true scoring threat has severely hampered this effort. Only Bayern and Leipzig have more clean sheets, but seven goals in 11 matches simply isn’t good enough.
16) Heidenheim
Previous Ranking: 14
Bundesliga Results: LDLLL
Heidenheim’s lack of depth has been on full display as the tired legs haven’t won in the Bundesliga since a 2-0 win against Mainz back in September, while only earning a single point in the subsequent six matches. The offensive efforts have improved but the defense is an absolute sieve right now.
17) Holstein Kiel
Previous Ranking: 17
Bundesliga Results: LLWLL
Defeating Heidenheim was the lone bright of the season but Kiel immediately reverted back to its defeatist attitude in losses to Bremen and Mainz. Pending a miracle, Kiel will spend the season battling Bochum for last place.
18) VfL Bochum
Previous Ranking: 18
Bundesliga Results: LLLDL
Dieter Hecking came out of retirement this month to dig Bochum out of deep relegation territory. Unfortunately, Bochum is by far the worst team in the league, giving up an average of three goals per game. Somehow Bochum managed a 1-1 draw against Leverkusen, but Bochum has conceded multiple in nine of its 11 Bundesliga matches.
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