On Friday night, the Bundesliga returns from its Winterpause.
Eintracht Frankfurt face Borussia Dortmund that evening, Bayer Leverkusen face Stuttgart on Saturday night, and Bayern Munich resume their season against Wolfsburg at Allianz Arena on Sunday, hoping to protect their nine-point lead at the top of the table.
Here are some themes and plotlines to keep an eye on in the second half of the season, as German football wakes from hibernation.
Jamal Musiala returns from injury
As good as Bayern Munich have been so far, the question that hung in the air during the first half of the season was how Jamal Musiala might make them even better. Musiala has just returned to full training following the ankle injury he suffered during the Club World Cup.
Musiala is a world-class playmaker with a set of abilities unique within the Bayern squad; adding him to the already potent attacking chemistry surely makes it richer.
But how does Vincent Kompany manage this situation? The chemistry between the front four — Harry Kane, Luis Diaz, Serge Gnabry and Michael Olise — has been such a feature of this season, and much of Bayern’s strength has been drawn from continuity in selection.
Does Musiala drop into the Gnabry role, in the more central position of attacking midfielders behind Kane? If so, he will bring something different to it. Gnabry is more dynamic and direct, whereas Musiala’s strengths are more technical. How does that impact the balance?
Whatever the answer, we are about to see Bayern at full strength. When they lost to Arsenal in the Champions League — their only defeat this season — the caveat was that they were without Musiala in London and without Alphonso Davies, who made his own return from long-term injury in December. Davies can be just as influential as Musiala. He changes the way the team attacks down the left and can only benefit their chance creation.
So: Musiala and Davies. It’s time to find out what Bayern can really be.
Musiala’s return will be ominous for Bayern’s rivals (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
RB Leipzig grow into a new era
The mood in Leipzig could not be more different from what it was a year ago.
In January 2025, the club had decided against parting with Marco Rose, which proved a mistake. They were about to limp to a seventh-placed finish that would cost them European football, and three major players — Xavi Simons, Benjamin Sesko and Lois Openda — left.
Twelve months on, there’s optimism about not only what this new group of players can achieve, but what they have already done. Ole Werner has made an excellent start as head coach, and while Leipzig suffered back-to-back defeats in the league before Christmas, those were attributable in part to AFCON absentees and injuries.
The brilliant Yan Diomande will still be on duty with Ivory Coast when Leipzig resume their season against St.Pauli in Hamburg on Saturday, but Ridle Baku should be available again, as will Antonio Nusa and Johan Bakayoko, whose slashing abilities have been so key to an attack averaging two goals per game.
This might be the most talented group Leipzig have assembled in the Bundesliga. Conrad Harder, a bull of a centre-forward who moved from Sporting CP in the summer, was able to show the breadth of his game before the break. Assan Ouedraogo, who made a goal-scoring debut for the German national team in the autumn, will be returning from injury in the coming weeks. At 19, he’s as talented a young midfielder as there is in Germany, and he will surely attract transfer attention before long.
Leipzig’s model has always made them brittle. Too many young players in the same place tends to be a recipe for volatile form. But there’s a freshness to Werner’s side and certainly the sense that, collectively and individually, they are growing in a way that deserves to be watched.
After their visit to the Millerntor this weekend, they face Freiburg in midweek before hosting Bayern the following weekend.
Can Hamburg score enough goals to survive?
It’s the issue that will decide their season.
Hamburg were promoted in part because of the goals of Davie Selke last year (22 in 31 2.Bundesliga appearances), but he left the club in the summer. Robert Glatzel has not been able to stay fit. Nor has Yussuf Poulsen, who arrived from Leipzig and quickly inherited the captaincy; Poulsen has only played 202 minutes in the Bundesliga for his new club.
The result: 16 goals from 15 Bundesliga games, the lowest tally of any club not in the relegation places. Hamburg have played well. The excellent signings of Albert Sambi Lokonga (from Arsenal), Luka Vuskovic (on loan from Tottenham) and Fabio Vieira (on loan from Arsenal) have stabilised them at the higher level and made them competitive.
Fabio Vieira celebrates his late winner for Hamburg against Stuttgart in November (Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
And they’re making chances: they have an xG this season of 19.84. They just need to take more of those opportunities.
Hamburg saw board member for sport Stefan Kuntz leave his role for personal reasons over the break. Kuntz was integral to the Lokonga and Vieira deals and will have to be replaced; the timing is less than ideal.
But the club have still managed to strengthen their attack. Damion Downs, the USMNT forward formerly of Koln, has been signed on loan from Southampton and will be depended upon to help cure that issue and keep Merlin Polzin’s side out of danger.
Harry Kane’s landmark
Barely a week seems to pass in Germany without Kane setting a new goalscoring record. The big one — the most significant of all — is within his sights too. In 2020-21, Robert Lewandowski scored 41 league goals in a single season (from 29 appearances), surpassing Gerd Muller’s record of 40 (34 appearances), which had stood since 1972.
Kane is currently on 19 goals for the Bundesliga season, from 15 games. That’s roughly 1.26 goals per game played, meaning that with 19 matches left this season, he would just have to maintain his scoring rate to set a new record.
He’s currently on track to score 43 times this season.
It’s an interesting sub-plot. Bayern are in the quarter-final of the DFB-Pokal and will hope to progress to the latter rounds of the Champions League. With a nine-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga, it’s inevitable that Kane — now 32 — will begin to miss league minutes, as Bayern try to keep him fresh for the big continental games. This is going to be close.
Frankfurt’s January investment
Frankfurt were among the league’s most capricious teams in the first half of the season. They scored 32 goals, but conceded 30. They put six past Borussia Monchengladbach in the autumn, but got hit for six themselves by Leipzig in early December.
Injuries to Can Uzun (now back), Jonathan Burkardt and Michy Batshuayi have been problematic, and so board member for sport Markus Kroesche has already been busy this month. Arnaud Kalimuendo has been signed on loan from Nottingham Forest, Elye Wahi has been allowed to return to France (after failing to score a league goal in his year at Deutsche Bank Park) and Younes Ebnoutalib, who was the 2.Bundesliga’s top scorer (12 goals from 17 games), has been signed from Elversberg.
Ebnoutalib is a good story and his progress will be intriguing. In Germany, the gap between the top two divisions is not as wide as it is in England, making the adjustment for players easier. Nevertheless, Ebnoutalib’s elevation has been remarkable. He only spent a year at Elversberg, having joined from fourth-tier FC Giessen in January 2025. Twelve months ago, he moved clubs for €50,000. A few weeks ago, he moved to the Bundesliga (and the Champions League) for €8m.
He’s a talented finisher; he’s shown that already. And he’ll get a chance when the season resumes. Neither Burkardt nor Batshuayi will be fit to play for several weeks, making him a starter by default for Dino Toppmoller.
What next for Bellingham?
In an interview with The Athletic this week, Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac spoke about Jobe Bellingham’s start and his adjustment to life in Germany. Kovac has been cautious with the midfielder, gradually giving him minutes without overwhelming him.
Bellingham is a project for the club and a long-term investment. He is also battling with Felix Nmecha, Marcel Sabitzer, Julian Brandt and Carney Chukwuemeka for a place in the Dortmund team. Nevertheless, he is still a €30m signing, a major deal by the club’s standards, which has left him exposed to impatience and criticism, by fans and media. It’s been difficult for him and that’s before even considering the added pressure of being Jude Bellingham’s brother.
Jobe Bellingham is still settling at Dortmund (Lars Baron/Getty Images)
This year feels important for him. Pascal Gross returned to Brighton over the New Year and the club have indicated that they will not replace him. That’s good news for Bellingham, who now has one fewer international to battle for a place.
On a separate Dortmund note: watch out for Mathis Albert, Samuele Inacio and Mussa Kaba. All of whom are considered big prospects internally and took part in the winter training camp in Marbella.
Are Schalke on their way back?
After 17 games, Miron Muslic has Schalke in first place, with a three-point gap at the top of the 2.Bundesliga. Can they hold on?
If they do, it will be because of the continuing form of a few key performers: central defender Nikola Katic has had an excellent season so far, so have Kenan Karaman and young midfielder Soufiane El-Faouzi. And ever-present in goal? Loris Karius.
Karius was a free agent signing a year ago and joined the club as a backup. He got his chance because of injury, earning a starting position and a new contract before the end of last season. Now, after all the difficulties he experienced following the 2019 Champions League final, he might be on the verge of a promotion and it would take a hard heart to begrudge a moment in the sun.
Karius has been good for Schalke. Their status has been diminished by what has — charitably — been a really discouraging decade, featuring two separate relegations. Nevertheless, they are still an enormous club and Veltins-Arena remains sold out for every home game. Not every player can cope with that expectation. Having someone like Karius in goal, who understands the highs and lows of big-club life, has proven extremely valuable.
The 2.Bundesliga begins a week later, but Schalke will travel to the Olympiastadion to face Hertha Berlin (sixth) a week on Saturday, for a game which might set the tone for the rest of their campaign.