Bundesliga Returns on 28 August With Schalke Back Up and Elversberg Making Their Debut
The 64th Bundesliga season starts on Friday with Bayern defending a 34th domestic title, Schalke back after three years down and SV Elversberg becoming the 59th club to play in the division.
The Bundesliga starts its 64th season on 28 August 2026 and runs to 22 May 2027, with three new names in the division and the same one at the top of the odds.
Up and down
| Promoted | Relegated |
|---|---|
| SV Elversberg | FC St. Pauli |
| FC Schalke 04 | 1. FC Heidenheim |
| SC Paderborn | VfL Wolfsburg |
SV Elversberg become the 59th club in Bundesliga history, promoted for the first time from a town of a few thousand people in Saarland. Schalke 04 return after three seasons in the second tier, which restores one of the largest home supports in European football to the top flight. SC Paderborn came up through the promotion-relegation play-off, beating Wolfsburg over two legs and sending a club that was in the Champions League places six seasons ago into the 2. Bundesliga.
Bayern again
Bayern Munich start as champions after winning a 34th domestic title (35th overall) last season. The interesting question in a Bundesliga preview is rarely who wins it, and usually how long the chasing pack stays credible - and whether the promoted sides can survive.
The shape of the season
Eighteen clubs, 34 matchdays, a winter break, and a relegation play-off between the 16th-placed side and the third-placed team in the 2. Bundesliga. That play-off is what sent Wolfsburg down and it is what usually decides the most valuable single tie of the German season.
Following it on Playdash
Playdash covers every Bundesliga matchday with match winner, Asian handicap, over/under, both teams to score and correct-score markets, plus first goalscorer and anytime scorer on all 18 clubs. Season outrights run on the title, top four, the relegation places and the play-off spot, with top-scorer markets updating through the campaign.
Season dates, promoted and relegated clubs and title history as published by the league. Matchday one fixtures were not confirmed in the source used at the time of writing on 25 August 2026.