It's always a story when FC Bayern München lose in the Bundesliga, especially when it's to a team outside the league's blue bloods. The Rekordmeister's defeat in Mainz opened the door to Bayer Leverkusen to get back into the title chase, and next week's date with RB Leipzig could do the same for the soda cans. What Matt, Nik, and Terry want to talk about though is the string of big names about to be out of contract at Säbener Strasse this summer. Is the club really set up for a successful changing of the guard?

It's always a pleasure when a Borussia Dortmund-FC Bayern München match-up lives up to the hype, so this pod finds Matt, Terry and Nik in a fairly buoyant mood as they talk about what the result might mean. The gang also mull over RB Leipzig and FC Heidenheim's recent stumbles and unpack the implications of the Bundesliga's new domestic TV deal - will it be another windfall for Dunlop?

Prior to the season, the names Bayer 04 Leverkusen, RB Leipzig, and Borussia Dortmund were the hottest picks from pundits looking for candidates for answer to the age-old question: WHO'S GONNA CHALLENGE BAYERN THIS YEAR?

A few months on, all those tams are in the top five, but it's clear we need add another name to the ranks of Spitzenmannschaften: Eintracht Frankfurt. Nik and Terry dig deep into what's making the Eagles soar, as well as touch down in the 2. Bundesliga to bring you up to speed on HSV's latest travails.

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim were a sensation when they came up to the Bundesliga under Ralf Rangnick a decade and a half ago, and gained renewed relevance under Julian Nagelsmann's reign a few years later. In more recent years, the club's trajectory has one toward irrelevance. Pellegrino Matarazzo saved them from relegation and then led them to Euurope last season - now he's out. Matt, Nik and Terry work out whether his sacking will make a difference and look at St. Pauli's innovative co-op stadium ownership plan.

It didn't happen overnight, but Dino Toppmöller has Eintracht Frankfurt in blistering form. After they tore VfL Bochum apart 7-2 on Match Day 9, the Bundesliga's bottom side hit the panic button: they hired Dieter Hecking to coach the team. Matt, Nik, and Terry talk about how the vastly experienced (but perhaps a little rusty) trainer might fare, how a ticket price row has roiled FC Bayern München fans, and more.

Do you need Artificial Intelligence to tell you FC Bayern München are favorites to win the Meisterschale this season? You do not, but Opta's lil' smartbot can't keep its mouth shut, Matt, Nik and Terry were game to talk about it, and one thing led to another...

Anyway, the gang also take on VfL Bochum's woe and their quest to end it by firing their coach and sporting director, FC St. Pauli supporters ire at their club's mode of transport down to Dortmund, and more.

First it was Jürgen Klopp taking over as Global Head of Soccer at Red Bull, then Thomas Tuchel saying yes to an offer to coach England. It could hardly have been a more exciting week on Europe's coaching carousel for German football. Matt, Nik and Terry try to figure out whether Tuchel and England are really a match made in heaven, whether their disappointment in Klopp meant they'd gotten a bit too parasocial with a football coach, and whether all the coaches getting out of day-to-day club management means the TOO MUCH FOOTBALL issue is hitting them too. A little bit on Berlin's most endangered football ground as well.

Bayer's visit to Bayern wasn't a goal fest, or even a very open game thanks to Leverkusen's defensive focus, but it was engrossing stuff. Best of all, it keeps things close at the top of the Bundesliga table. Matt and Terry welcome roving reporter Marie Schulte-Bockum back to the pod to talk about the Toppspiel, the ongoing issues in Hoffenheim and, of course, her beloved FC Schalke 04.

Side note: Apologies for the sound quality on Matt's track - his 'clean' track got lost and didn't get the settings right on the backup!

SC Freiburg and 1. FC Union Berlin are on the upper rungs of the Bundesliga table after four rounds, both guided there by new coaches. As Matt, Nik and Terry discuss, however, that's about all their circumstances have in common. Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, suffered the first big setback of the Nuri Sahin era, though 'big' doesn't really capture the scale of their 5-1 loss in Stuttgart. As it happens, they're not alone among Ruhrpott clubs to hit the skids this past weekend...

We do try to avoid jumping to conclusions, but sometimes a blowout result forces the issue. FC Bayern München's 6-1 shellacking of Holstein Kiel has Matt, Nik and Terry on the former's 'Bayern are back' hype train, and left them just as convinced that Kiel have no real shot at staying in the 1. Bundesliga. The gang also address Dortmund's umpteenth search for a stable defense, the good doctor of German refereeing, and an 80th birthday for an all-time great.

The football media went gaga for the Germany attacking duo they dubbed 'Wusiala' after a big win over Hungary this international break. Naturally that means speculation over whether FC Bayern München can afford the W(irtz) to go along with the (M)usiala, so Matt, Nik and Terry threw their hats into that ring too. The gang also turned their attention to the latest crop of German coaching exports in England, where Fabian Hürzeler is leading the way...