Which Bundesliga Clubs Can Actually Challenge Bayern Munich in 2015/16 Season?

The Bundesliga seems to have just one club capable of winning the league title from one season to the next. That club is Bayern Munich.

No one else has the players, the manager or the budget to match the Bavarian giants, and as such, the league title is theirs to lose come May. 

Or is it as simple as that? Nobody can deny the side from Munich makes more money, pays more in wages and has some of the best players in the league, but does that mean there are no genuine challengers in the German top division?

Let's take a look.

The most obvious contender for Bayern's crown this season will undoubtedly be Wolfsburg who, under Dieter Hecking, have continued to improve from one campaign to the next. The Volkswagen-owned club may not be everyone's favourite side, but they are undoubtedly in pole position to tackle the Bavarian giants. 

Despite what their reputation may suggest, the Wolves have had a rather modest summer transfer period signing just Max Kruse from Borussia Moenchengladbach as well as a number of irrelevant youth players. 

In fact, it has been the players Wolfsburg have so far hung on to—specifically Kevin De Bruyne and Ricardo Rodriguez—who will ultimately define the club's desires for the coming season. For not only do such talents improve the side but in such crunch games at the top of the table, they are ultimately the players who can win matches on their own. 

Hecking will be well aware of what Bayern bring to the table by now and showed last season—with one win and one very narrow defeat to Guardiola's side—that his team aren't too far at all from matching the German champions man for man on any given day.

Germany's second club for the time being are Wolfsburg, and they're more certainly a concern for the Munich side. 

Another possible challenger on the horizon in this season's Bundesliga may well be Bayer Leverkusen who have quietly gone about their business this summer and could well have a formidable side worth testing in just a few weeks' time.

Out the door have gone the tired, dated defence of Emir Spahic and Philipp Wollscheid and in have come younger, exciting prospects like Jonathan Tah, Christoph Kramer and possibly even Chilean international Charles Aranguiz.

Although none of these players really offer the kind of match-winning quality of a De Bruyne or Franck Ribery, it does indicate the slow but steady turn around within the club since Roger Schmidt arrived last season.

The relatively new coach has enforced a quick, gung-ho style of play that has worked wonders for Leverkusen over the past 12 months, and like Wolfsburg, we've seen the Factory Squad put Bayern to the sword of late. 

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

This team may not have many superstars, but they have slowly but surely worked their way up as a solid unit, and that could cause all sorts of problems to next season's title race. 

Although it may seem like an oddity to even suggest it, Borussia Dortmund come into this conversation as the real dark horses for this season's Bundesliga. Thomas Tuchel has come in, revamped the entire squad and brought in some key signings, but until a competitive ball is kicked, we just can't tell if the former champions are up to the task.

The pre-season friendlies against lesser opponents in Asia and genuine European sides such as Juventus have seen Tuchel's side perform with impressive speed and precession—regardless of the gulf in quality—with recent imports Gonzalo Castro, Julian Weigl and Roman Burki all looking ready-made for first-team action. 

However, this first season will not be one in which the former Mainz manager will sprint for silverware. Following a flirt with relegation and Europa League qualification in the final few weeks of the campaign under Jurgen Klopp, the new coach will be tasked with simply finishing in the top four amongst some genuine competition.

Dortmund look bright under Tuchel and may well pose a threat to Bayern's dominance one day, but even the staunchest black-and-yellow fan will have to concede a top-four spot is the very best we can hope for from the Westfalenstadion side this season. 

Elsewhere, we have the best of the rest: a group of clubs that could quite easily find themselves in the top four come May but certainly don't look ready to challenge Bayern at the top of the table. 

Top of this list are undoubtedly Lucien Favre's Foals of Moenchengladbach, who continue to confound predictions each year by consistently proving themselves as a worthy opponent.

Gladbach don't have the resources or indeed the squad for a full title campaign, and with Champions League football also on the cards this season, then it's indeed more likely that Favre's side will drop a position or two rather than jump up and challenge Bayern. 

Augsburg are similarly well-placed out of this pack with young, exciting manager Markus Weinzierl looking to continue poking holes in the sales of the giants around his minnow side, while the likes of Schalke and Hoffenheim will undoubtedly continue to match expectations with their bulging budgets. 

Bayern may be top dog at the moment, but a few clubs may well be on the cusp of pushing them off their perch with a little luck and some well-prepared plans for the coming season.  

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