1899 TSG Hoffenheim

Manager: Holger Stanislawski
Major Signings: Johnson (VfL Wolfsburg), Schipplock (VfB Stuttgart II), Musona (Kaizer Chiefs)
Major Departures: Kamavuaka (FC Nurnberg), Ozcan (FC Ingolstadt)

As Augsburg’s fairytale begins, Hoffenheim’s continues to fizzle and die. The club that shot to fame with a series of high profile signings were sitting pretty at the top of the Bundesliga not so long ago, since then they have been on a steady downward spiral. The money has dried up and the players are moving on, not to mention the loss of Rangnick, the man that made it work so well. This season will be the toughest yet and whilst I expect them to survive, I also expect them to go down within three seasons.

Prediction: 15th

FC Kaiserslautern

Manager: Marco Kurz
Major Signings: Kouemaha (Club Brugge), Vermouth (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Fortounis (Asteras Tripolis), Sukuta-Pasu (Bayer Leverkusen), Cahan (MSV Duisburg), Shechter (Hapoel Tel Aviv)
Major Departures: Klement (FC Nurnberg), Lakic (VfL Wolfsburg).

Another team that performed above expectations last year and another team that benefitted from faltering giants. I expected them to drop a handful of places before last seasons top scorer, Lakic moved to Wolfsburg and replacing him with a young unproven Israeli, Schecter is a massive gamble. A return to the second tier is a very real possibility.

Prediction: 16th

FC Koln

Manager: Stale Solbakken
Major Signings: Roshi (Flamurtari Vlore)
Major Departures: Kessler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Yalcin (Istanbul BB), Ehret (Evian), Salger (VfL Osnabruck), Yobo (Alemmania Aachen)

Koln’s season basically revolves around Lukas Podolski, so what does new manager Stale Solbaken do as soon as he arrives? You guessed it…well, probably not. He strips the star player of the captaincy and gives him a reason to look elsewhere. I’m basing my prediction on Podolski staying and doing what he does best, alongside Novakovic. However if Podolski does end up moving on Koln could find themselves in the relegation mix.

Prediction: 12th

FSV Mainz

Manager: Thomas Tuchel
Major Signings: Ujah (Lillestrom), Baumgartlinger (Austria Vienna), Schonheim (Wehen Wiesbaden), Ivanschitz (Panathinaikos), Yilmaz (Bayern Munich II), Maxim Choupo-Moting (Hamburg SV), Risse (Bayer Leverkusen), (Greuther Furth), Pospech (FC Kobenhavn), Stieber (Alemmania Aachen), Polanski (Getafe), Fathi (Spartak Moscw)
Major Departures: Schurrle (Bayer Leverkusen), Bell (Eintracht Frankfurt), Fuchs (Schalke 04), Pieckenhagen (retired), Simak (Carl Zeiss Jena), Karhan (Spartak Trnava)

The loss of a goal-scorer as prolific as Schurrle would affect any team, never mind a team that punched well above it’s weight last season. Replacing those goals is going to prove tough, but Tuchel has the right idea and spent the incoming transfer money well, strengthening in a number of areas with players that have been waiting for a chance to blossom in the top flight. That said, I expect Mainz to drop a few places but I also expect them to avoid the relegation fight with relative ease.

Prediction: 13th

FC Nurnberg

Manager: Dieter Hecking
Major Signings: Didavi (VfB Stuttgart), Klement (Kaiserslautern), Feulner (Borussia Dortmund), Esswein (Dynamo Dresden), Seitz (Saarbrucken), Klose (FC Thun), Pekhart (Jablonec)
Major Departures: Gundogan (Borussia Dortmund), Batz (SC Freiburg), Wolf (released), Mintal (Hansa Rostock), Ochs (1860 Munich), Vidosic (Adelaide United)

Hecking has taken a bit of a gamble by letting one or two older heads move on and placing his faith in a raft of new signings, most of which have no top tier experience. Time will tell if he has done the right thing and if it goes wrong, it could go very, very wrong. I don’t expect them to perform as well as they did last season, but I also don’t think it will go all that wrong and a mid-table finish beckons.

Prediction: 11th

Schalke 04

Manager: Ralf Rangnick
Major Signings: Hoger (Alemmania Aachen), Fuchs (FSV Mainz), Fahrmann (Eintracht Frankfurt), Marica (VfB Stuttgart)
Major Departures: Neuer (Bayern Munich), Stevanovic (Werder Bremen), Schmitz (Werder Bremen), Asamoah (released), Plestan (released), Karimi (Persepolis), Charisteas (released), Pander (Hannover 96)

Despite absolutely horrific league form Schalke have enjoyed a relatively successful 2011 so far. A Semi-Final appearance in the Champions League, a DFB-Pokal win and victory via penalties in the German Super Cup against Dortmund. The loss of Neuer is a big blow but if Fahrmann’s Super Cup performance is anything to go by they have acquired a very capable replacement. Always capable of challenging, a full season with Ralf Rangnick in charge might well see them push Bayern all the way.

Prediction: 2nd

VfB Stuttgart

Manager: Bruno Labbadia
Major Signings: Kvist (FC Kobenhavn), Traore (FC Augsburg), Hajnal (Borussia Dortmund), Maza (PSV Eindhoven)
Major Departures: Didavi (FC Nurnberg), Funk (St Pauli), Elson (released), Marica (Schalke 04), Trasch (VfL Wolfsburg)

Stuttgart are a strange team. They have some excellent players and a host of extremely average players, which makes consistency almost impossible. On their day they are capable of beating anyone but their defence is so fragile that when they are caught having an off day they can end up on the wrong end of a thrashing. Hanging on to the likes of Kuzmanovic and Cacau is a plus, as is offloading Marica. As far as signings go, Maza could prove a hit and might well shore up that extremely leaky defence.

Prediction: 7th

Werder Bremen

Manager: Thomas Schaaf
Major Signings: Stevanovic (Schalke 04), Schmitz (Schalke 04), Ekici (Bayern Munich), Papastathopoulos (Genoa)
Major Departures: Niemeyer (Hertha Berlin), Pasanen (Red Bull Salzburg), Jensen (released), Frings (Toronto FC), Samuel (Anderlecht), Vranjes (released)

Money makes the world go round and Werder just can’t compete on that front anymore. Conceding was the issue last year and they have gone some way to hopefully improving things on that front. Papastathopoulos in particular, is a player who should help steady things at the back. Goals will remain an issue though. Pizarro and Almeida aren’t prolific and until they find someone who can get into double figures in the scoring charts they will remain a mid-table team.

Prediction: 9th

VfL Wolfsburg

Manager: Felix Magath
Major Signings: Klich (Cracovia), Ochs (Eintracht Frankfurt), Lakic (Kaiserslautern), Trasch (VfB Stuttgart), Salihamidzic (Juventus), Russ (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Major Departures: Johnson (TSG Hoffenheim), Ziani (Kayserispor), Wolze (MSV Duisburg), Grafite (Al-Ahli Dubai), Karimov (MSV Duisburg)

I have a huge amount of respect for Felix Magath and that respect probably affected how confident I am that he can turn things around for Wolfsburg. It seems almost impossible that they could have as bad a season this time out, but likewise it seems almost impossible that they could storm up the table and into Europe. That is especially true when you consider the fact that Dzeko still hasn’t been replaced, Grafite has moved on now too and Diego has fallen out with the manager. They have bought wisely though and Salihamidzic is the leader this side has been crying out for.

Prediction: 5th