2017/18 Bundesliga Relegation Preview: Which Teams to Drop out?

Is it too early to start thinking which teams to be relegated at the end of this season? Our 2017/18 Bundesliga relegation preview shows that although the season started to take shape, some teams are expected to avoid the relegation zone, while others might get stuck on the bottom.

14 matches are left in order for both Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 to be concluded, and many teams are already worried about the potential relegation at the end of this season. According to online sportsbooks in Germany Hamburg are expected to break new record, not for winning the competition but for dropping out for the first time since 1963 when the Bundesliga was established. In addition, our 2017/18 Bundesliga relegation preview shows that Cologne who sit on the bottom will manage to avoid relegation very soon.

2017/18 Bundesliga relegation preview: pick only two teams

While in many European Leagues the top three teams are promoted and the bottom three are relegated, Germany employs a two-legged play-off system to determine which clubs stay up and which go down. With 18 clubs competing in both the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, the bottom two teams suffer automatic relegation, while the team in 16th place plays two legs after Matchday 34 against the club that finishes third in the division below.

Cologne to avoid relegation

Cologne gave a very low performance during the first half of the season. They lost 13 games out of 16, sitting on the bottom line without a single victory. Thus in the early of the last December they started a remarkable Bundesliga revival, taking successive wins against Wolfsburg, Borussia Monchengladbach, and most recently, Hamburg, prior to finishing with a draw against their visitors Augsburg on Matchday 20.

(Source: Bundesliga)

Now they remain unbeaten in 2018 with two wins and a draw. Such successful comeback lies in signing the new sporting director Armin Veh who has experience of more than 600 competitive matches and lifted the Bundesliga title in 2007 with Stuttgart.

When Armin Veh came in, Cologne had 11-point gap to safety, while now they are only 3 points behind. In the January transfer window they signed two fresh players including the striker Simon Terodde, and the under-21 midfielder Vincent Koziello. If they keep progressing they will probably avoid automatic relegation.

Hamburg and Werder Bremen in danger

Hamburg is the only club to never to have been relegated since 1963 when the Bundesliga was established. But the last four years have been tight – HSV have been in the playoff two times and survived. After their four-match losing run prior to a draw against Leipzig, Hamburg appointed a new head coach, but they failed to bring in fresh players during the winter break. So it is difficult to expect that a dramatic change may happen if the new coach could not successfully reshape the team.

Furthermore, Werder Bremen are suffering with constant loss of points regardless of their two surprising victories over Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund in the last December. In addition, they failed to bring in some remarkable players except a teenage left-back Marco Fiedl from the Champions Bayern Munich.

Pick two teams to be relegated

At Unibet Sportsbook you can enjoy a good earning if you wish to bet on Cologne not to be relegated at the end of this season. The odds are 1.15 for Cologne to be relegated, while they are 5.00 for the team to avoid relegation. In regards to Hamburg the odds are 1.85 for both yes and no, thus our recommendation is to bet on yes the team will be relegated for the first time in Bundesliga. The other team that is expected to be relegated is Werder Bremen with odds standing at 3.20 for yes, while they are 1.30 for no.