Bayern Munich

Established in 1963, the Bundesliga league is the top-flight soccer tournament which takes place in Germany. The founding members of this were Werder Bremen, Schalke 04, FC Koln, Hertha BSC, Hamburger SV, Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart. Also, they have most recently welcomed RB Leipzig back in 2016. With such a fantastic mix of teams, this league is most definitely one to look out for this season.

With the beginning of the 2018/19 fixtures just around the corner, we wanted to put together this article to explore the scheduling of the games. From who has the best stakes at getting to the final, to how the overall tournament could turn out, this post covers it.

Fixtures and Notable Dates

The beginning of this year’s tournament kicks off on the 24^th August 2018 and is expected to end on the 18^th May 2019. Starting off the fixtures, current Champions Bayern Munich play in their home grounds at Allianz Stadium against Hoffenheim. And the

22nd December 2017.

As the January transfer window is just around the corner, clubs all over Europe will be discussing their plans to bring in the targets they have identified.

Historically, January has been a time period where you might find a bargain in the market, due to the player forcing his way out of the club, or because their contract is expiring in six months' time.

With that being said, here are the three best free transfers available in Europe right now:

Mesut Özil Arsenal

The German's next club, should he leave Arsenal, will realise that they have secured one of the biggest bargains of the last decade.

It has been surprising to see the Gunners allow Mesut Özil to run down his contract with no contingency plan involved, and so there is no surprise to see a number of teams interested in signing the World Cup winner when his contract expires next June.

Özil is in the position now, coming into January, where he can

2nd August 2017. By Ryan Baldi.
When James Rodriguez joined Real Madrid in the summer of 2014, he seemed to have the football world at his feet.

Fresh off the back of a stellar World Cup campaign, carrying Colombia to the quarter-finals and finishing as the tournament's top scorer along the way, his £63 million move to the Bernabeu appeared to crown him as the new prince of European football; Lionel Messi and new team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo still contested the throne, but Rodriguez was surely the heir apparent.

But three years on, the 26-year-old's Real Madrid tenure cannot be looked back on as a success. Early promise soon faded to the point where, for the final 18 months of his three-year stay in the Spanish capital, he more regularly occupied a place on the substitutes' bench rather than on the pitch.

Indeed, for the 2017 Champions League

28th July 2017. By Edward Stratmann.
Although leaving Olympique Lyonnais would've been a tough call to make after spending 10 years at the club, Corentin Tolisso knew the time was right to embark on the next chapter in his career

For Tolisso, who was close to joining Napoli a year ago, his decision to stay at Les Gones for another season was entirely vindicated, for he played a starring role for OL in a season where they reached the semi finals of the Europa League and finished fourth in Ligue 1. In addition, his consistently excellent performances were certainly crucial towards him earning a dream move to Bayern Munich.

"A year ago, all the conditions weren't right. I wasn't ready to leave and I still wanted to play for Olympique Lyonnais. This year, I'm ready to take the big step. I have had a complete season. My individual performances were quite promising and I

28th June 2017. By Ryan Baldi.
With just one year remaining on his contract and high on the wish list of several of Europe's biggest clubs, Alexis Sánchez is unlikely to still be an Arsenal player by the start of the 2017-18 season.

The former Barcelona forward was the Gunners' outstanding performer last season, netting 24 Premier League goals and returning a career high total of 30 in 51 all-competitions games, including a crucial strike in the North London side's FA Cup final victory over champions Chelsea.

Sánchez was the shining light in an otherwise disappointing season for Arsenal which saw them fail to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in two decades. Currently on international duty with Chile at the Confederations Cup in Russia, the 28-year-old attacker is set to resolve his future upon his return, with all signs pointing towards an exit from the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal would love to hold onto their

21st June 2017. By Ryan Baldi.
Less than a year ago, Renato Sanches appeared to have the world at his feet. The Portuguese teenager had just turned down Manchester United to sign for German champions Bayern Munich from Benfica in a headline-grabbing €35 million deal, potentially rising to as much as €60 million with conditional add-ons.

He also starred at last summer's European Championships in France, helping Portugal overcome the odds and upset the home nation, claiming their first ever major international honour.

Now, though, the 19-year-old midfielder, having started only six Bundesliga games during his first campaign at the Allianz Arena, faces the very real possibility of having to play his football elsewhere next season.

Bayern's public stance is that they would be reluctant to allow Sanches to leave the club as things stand. But their recent €35 million purchase of energetic French midfielder Corentin Tolisso, coupled with manager Carlo Ancelotti's

16th January 2017. By Edward Stratmann.
Having been in outstanding form since September, Thiago Alcantara's unfortunate thigh injury, which occurred while away on a training camp in Qatar, is a real blow for Bayern Munich.

With the enormously talented midfielder set to miss up to a month, Bayern will be desperately hoping he'll be fit in time for their Champions League tie with Arsenal in February. "It's a real shame. Thiago was in very, very good form in the last few games before the winter break," Philipp Lahm said.

While his manager, Carlo Ancelotti, was also stung by the news, lamenting: "It is a pity, but these things can happen. I hope he won't be out for too long. Three weeks, maybe."

In light of what an immense performance he put in against RB Leipzig just prior to the winter break, the setback is indeed a major disappointment.

24th August 2016. By Ryan Baldi.
So close, yet so far: the 78 points that Borussia Dortmund accumulated last season would've been enough to win the title in all but four seasons in Bundesliga history. But despite this mammoth points haul, BVB still finished a full 10 points behind champions Bayern Munich.

It was the fourth season in a row that Bayern had claimed the Bundesliga crown, and despite Dortmund's superb return to form under Thomas Tuchel last term, there was a distinct sense of inevitability about how the Bavarians were marching towards another title, long before the season reached its closing stages.

And before the tickertape had even been swept up from Bayern's title celebrations, the 25-time Bundesliga champions swooped to sign Dortmund captain and star defender Mats Hummels, before the two sides had even faced off in the season-closing

13th May 2016. By Edward Stratmann.
Following his record 17th Champions League semifinal, a landmark that Cristiano Ronaldo also achieved this week, Xabi Alonso could be satisfied that he did everything in his power to help Bayern Munich overcome Atletico Madrid.

Ultimately, despite playing a tactically excellent game, Pep Guardiola's side cruelly bowed out against Diego Simeone's dogged outfit 2-2 on aggregate due to away goals. But in the wake of the sheer disappointment attached to the result for Bayern, Alonso's incredible showing only served to highlight just what a sensational player the now 34-year-old still is.

He played an absolutely vital role for his side, both with and without the ball, in a match where his tactical intelligence and technical gifts shone brightly throughout.

With Guardiola knowing Atleti would be playing in their customary 4-4-2 formation, he made the shrewd decision to split his centre backs, Javi Martinez and Jerome Boateng,

2nd May 2016.
Three times in the past decade, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have met in the final of the DFB Pokal. In 2008, Dortmund fell behind 11 minutes into the match but scored in stoppage time to buy themselves another opportunity at the win. The Bavarians pulled ahead in extra time to win their 14^th DFB Pokal title.

Dortmund had their revenge four years later, crushing Bayern Munich 5-2 to win their first DFB Pokal since 1989. It was just one feather in the cap of a fabulous season for the Black and Yellows, who would also go on to beat Munich by eight points in the Bundesliga.

The third match-up played a good deal more like the first. In 2014, Dortmund managed to hold Munich to a scoreless stalemate throughout the first 90 minutes of play. In extra time, though, the superior Bayern team outlasted Dortmund, scoring two goals to bring their DFB Pokal title haul to 17.

A Fierce Rivalry