Every Bundesliga team’s biggest weakness in 2026

The 2025/26 Bundesliga season is more than halfway done, and so now is as great of a time as ever to pinpoint the biggest sporting weakness in each side in the German top flight so far this season.

Augsburg: Retaining control

Every smaller Bundesliga side is inherently going to struggle at least somewhat in possession, and the style of the Bundesliga has never really been about being strong with the ball, unless if you are Bayern Munich (and occasionally RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund, depending on the manager).

But Augsburg have more talent than their placement in the league table (13th) suggests. A big part of that is their inability to protect leads by keeping control of games, both in and out of possession.

They have a few players who are genuinely among the best in the Bundesliga between Chrislain Matsima and Alexis Claude-Maurice, but they struggle to build play up and string together passes when these two are not part of the play.

Bayer Leverkusen: Striker

Although Patrik Schick is a pretty big name in the Bundesliga and will always live in fame for his halfway goal at the Euros, the 30 year old marksman is clearly past it as a top striker.

And the Bundesliga is one of those leagues where you NEED a top striker in order to compete for the title. Bayer Leverkusen are back to being nowhere close to title contention, sitting all the way back down in sixth.

Schick does not have the all around quality anymore to be the main man up top, and Leverkusen are going to have to find a new solution to work with the burgeoning young talent on the wings.

Bayern Munich: Non-attacking depth

Bayern Munich have an embarrassment of attacking riches, as even guys like Serge Gnabry, Nicolas Jackson, and Lennart Karl are among the best in the Bundesliga despite merely being backups for Die Roten. And throw in Tom Bischof, too.

But the base of the midfield is very weak. Leon Goretzka will finally be leaving, but he is the main box to box guy in midfield. And then the fullback positions are thinner than any other elite European side’s, which has left Bischof often masquerading as a left back. Bayern have to hit these areas hard in the summer. If they do, they will be the best team in European football.

Borussia Dortmund: Wing play

Borussia Dortmund are usually known for having exciting, electrifying wingers, and that was the case even 20 years ago when they were just as disappointing (perhaps even moreso) than they are now.

Somehow, Dortmund, with an uninspiring brand of football, are second in the Bundesliga, but they have a serious lack of quality out wide. Karim Adeyemi looks like he is mentally checked out of the club and has been a waste of supreme talent to this point in his Bundesliga career.

Dortmund are using shuttling wide wing backs, but even the industry of Daniel Svensson cannot shroud the lack of actual quality, especially in one on one duels, in this Dortmund side. Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Jadon Sancho are missed.

Borussia Monchengladbach: Skill

Borussia Monchengladbach actually have a decent squad when you look at the individual players on the team. They work hard, and players like Rocco Reitz and Franck Honorat are genuinely among the best players in their roles in the Bundesliga.

They have players who can create chances and even put them away (with how well Haris Tabakovic is playing out of nowhere), but they truly lack skill. They don’t have anyone who can explode off the wing, win one on ones, or genuinely weave magic from nothing. And that’s been the difference in them sitting 12th in the Bundesliga table.

Eintracht Frankfurt: The spine

Eintracht Frankfurt have honestly been the biggest disappointing in the Bundesliga this season. They are just oozing with young talent, and while they could be doing a lot more to get the most out of players like Jean-Matteo Bahoya and Fares Chaibi, the real problem lies further back.

Frankfurt have talented individuals, but they have no spine in the team. They do not have a reliable deep lying playmaker, their defensive back line is talented but too all over the place. There is no leadership at the base of the team, and the collection of individuals just falls apart entirely.

FC Heidenheim: The entire midfield

Heidenheim are an exciting team to watch, but they are so unsuccessful and doomed for relegation because they do not play as an actual team. There is no structure, no system, and their midfield is the least talented in perhaps all of European football – hence why they have easily the worst goal difference in the German Bundesliga.

FC Koln: Striker

Honestly, if FC Koln had a competent striker, they would be competing for European football and pushing the likes of Bayer Leverkusen and even RB Leipzig higher up in the table.

Ragner Ache, Marius Butler, and Luca Waldschmidt have all been woeful this season, none of them scoring more than exactly three goals each. Meanwhile, Said El Mala is the next big thing in German football and has seven goals, but he is not a true No. 9 and has more bench appearances than starts; he is also destined to join Bayern Munich this summer.

Freiburg: Striker

A common theme in the Bundesliga is a glut of teams in the middle of the table struggling to put away their chances, and for as much as the Bundesliga has been known for having the most striker depth in European football, it has been a pretty weak season for everyone except for Harry Kane in Bavaria.

Freiburg are seventh in the table with a talented defense and a pretty deep squad, but this well oiled machine can’t overachieve even more than they are because Vincenzo Grifo is their leading scorer at a measly six goals in 13 starts and 8 bench appearances.

But Grifo is the veteran playmaker and set piece wiz on the wings; he isn’t supposed to be leading Freiburg in goals. Igor Matanovic is promising but not ready yet. Lucas Holer at striker? Well, there is your problem.

Hamburg: Striker

Hamburg have a lot of forwards who looked great in the 2. Bundesliga, but, predictably, they have not been able to translate as well to the Bundesliga as, say, left back Miro Muheim.

It is easy for mediocre strikers to score a lot of easy goals in the second division and then to get exposed in the top flight. Jean-Luc Dompe has been an unmitigated flop from the wing, while Robert Konigsdorfer is arguably the worst striker in the Bundesliga right now, missing chances left and right and looking like the ghosts Sam Darnold used to see when he played for the New York Jets.

Hoffenheim: Box to box midfield

Even though the mainstream probably isn’t paying much attention, Hoffenheim have been one of the stories of the Bundesliga in the 2025/26 season, and they are producing young talents who could help tell the story of European football in the future.

But one thing they are missing, especially in the aftermath of Tom Bischof’s move to Bayern Munich, is a true star in the midfield to play the box to box role. Wouter Burger is a great deep lying playmaker, and Tim Lemperle is a talented attacking playmaker. But alongside them, Hoffenheim don’t have a guy who can carry possession at a high level.

Mainz: Striker

Mainz have been massive disappointments and are flirting with relegation at this point despite the sheer brilliance of veteran attacking midfielder Nadiem Amiri and breakout defensive midfielder Kaishu Sano.

No single player has been a bigger flop this season than Benedict Hollerbach, and just about every forward associated with this team has been awful, even though the midfield is quite strong. Hollerbach has just one goal this season and is a large part of the reason why Mainz have been so poor.

RB Leipzig: Time

RB Leipzig have a quality squad on their hands, but what’s holding them back from being better than they are is the fact that their key attacking players are so young and raw.

Romulo, Yan Diomande, Assan Ouedraogo, and Antonio Nusa are serious talents who could be the best players in the Bundesliga one day – and Diomande probably already is on the left wing – but they are still about two or three seasons away from being top, top players at the Champions League level.

St. Pauli: The defense

At this point, it’s fair to wonder if St. Pauli even play defense. Goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj is actually tremendous, but he has no chance behind a back line that seems to be better at driving the ball forward than anything else.

Union Berlin: Midfield quality

Union Berlin are in the top half of the table but only just, as their tremendous defense is let down by a lack of playmaking quality and even ball winning in the midfield.

In all honesty, Union’s midfield is shocking. There is a lack of depth and quality, and while that is somewhat understandable for a team with their modest budget, it is nonetheless a problem.

VfB Stuttgart: Consistency

Stuttgart have a loaded squad. There is not a single weakness in the starting XI, and they are deep in most positions. Players like Jamie Leweling, Deniz Undav, Jeff Chabot, and Angelo Stiller are among the best in the Bundesliga, and new playmaker Bilal El Khannouss has been sensational.

The problem with Stuttgart is that they flop. They tend to underperform in big games, and at any given notice, such as against St. Pauli, they can suddenly collapse. On paper, Stuttgart are the second best team in the Bundesliga. In reality, they are fifth, precisely because they are their own worst enemies.

Werder Bremen: Striker

Werder Bremen should start believing in Keke Topp, because their striker situation is disastrous. Honestly, their attacking output is pretty poor, but between the young new left winger Samuel Mbangula and Topp, Werder should be able to muster more.

The days of Marco Grull masquerading as the main man should be long gone. Bremen are in the relegation fight for a number of reasons and they may have more squad weaknesses than any other well known Bundesliga club, but their lack of goals is the chief culprit.

Wolfsburg: The back line

Wolfsburg are no longer treading water after firing Paul Simonis, one of the worst coaches we have ever seen in the Bundesliga, but they are still a well below average side.

There are quality players littered throughout the squad, yet there are also issues. There is not a single standout player on the back line, and as much as transfer outlets want to hype up Konstantinos Koulierakis, comparing him to Micky van de Ven is laughable.

Dennis Vavro has not had the expected defensive or leadership impact for Wolfsburg. This team leaks goals almost to the extent of Heidenheim, and everyone who plays in this defense should be ashamed of their performances this season.