Kaiserslautern eager to regain Bundesliga place
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After finishing third last season and missing out on promotion to the Bundesliga in a play-off, Kaiserslautern are this season’s Bundesliga 2 favourites at 11/4.
Franco Foda’s side lost out in the two-legged play-off against Hoffenheim in May, and will be eager to claim an automatic route to the top tier this time around.
Kaiserslautern have yo-yoed between the two divisions in recent years – a far cry from their consecutive league successes of the late 90s.
The Red Devils won this division in 2010, going on to spend two seasons in the top flight before relegation in 2012.
Arguably the biggest side in the league, Kaiserslautern won’t be too concerned about the sides dropping down from the Bundesliga.
Hertha BSC showed last season that teams can make an instant return to the top league, but that seems unlikely to be achieved this time around.
Fortuna Dusseldorf are 6/1 to win the league and make an instant return to the top tier after relegation in May, but having rose through four divisions in five years to reach the Bundesliga, it will be a hard task to regain that momentum.
Greuther Furth also went down last season, and are also at 6/1.
Last season was their first with the big boys in over a decade, after consistently finishing in the top half of Bundesliga 2.
But having won just four times last season, morale at Furth will no doubt take some time to recover.
FC Koln seem best equipped to challenge Kaiserslautern this term, and are 7/2 to win the league.
The Billy Goats have similarly switched regularly between the top two divisions, but couldn’t muster promotion last year after failing to replace the Arsenal-bound Lukas Podolski.
Their track record is strong though – finishing fifth or higher in four of their last six seasons in Bundesliga 2.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
