By Rich

The final matchday of this season’s Bundesliga has arrived, so let’s look at what’s already been decided and what remains to be decided on Saturday. As for what has already been determined: FC Bayern München are league champions, Borussia Dortmund have finished in second place, and SpVgg Greuther Fürth have been  relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. For the UEFA Champions League, 3 of the 4 spots have already been claimed by Bayern, Dortmund, and Leverkusen. The 4th spot is currently occupied by Leipzig, and Leipzig could secure the spot if they win or draw in their away match in Bielefeld. Leipzig could also secure the spot if they lose and Freiburg also don’t win, but Freiburg could claim the spot if Leipzig were to lose and Freiburg win in their away match in Leverkusen. Looking at the UEFA Europa League, the rules state that the team in 5th and the team that wins the DFB Pokal qualify directly for the group stage; however, as Leipzig and Freiburg are this season’s Pokal finalists, the team that finishes 6th will take the 2nd Europa League group berth. Should the Pokal winner finish 5th or 6th, there will not be a 3rd Bundesliga team in the Europa League, and the team that finishes 7th will instead go into the Europa Conference League play-offs. The 4 teams in question are Leipzig, Freiburg, Union Berlin, and Köln. Freiburg’s superior goal differential means they are virtual guaranteed group stage football at a minimum, regardless of what happens on Saturday: only a heavy loss in Leverkusen, combined with big wins for Union Berlin and Köln, would drop them to 7th. Even then, they could still qualify by winning the Pokal final. Union will qualify if they win at home to Bochum, and a draw will also suffice if Köln don’t win in Stuttgart. If Union draw and Köln win, goal differential will decide. Köln must win to have a chance, but also need help from Stuttgart, for a Köln win and a Union draw will then bring in goal differential and perhaps even head-to-head records into the equation. If Köln draw or lose, they will go into the Conference League playoffs. 7 teams have only final league positions to play for: Hoffenheim, Mainz, Gladbach, Bochum, Eintracht, Wolfsburg, and Augsburg. That leaves the relegation battle. Fürth are already relegated, and Bielefeld are almost certainly relegated, too. The real battle is between Hertha and Stuttgart. If Hertha avoid defeat in Dortmund, they will stay in the top flight. Stuttgart, however, need to win at home against Köln and have Hertha lose to climb above Hertha on goal differential. If Stuttgart draw or lose, they will end the season in the relegation play-off spot and Hertha will finish above them. Don’t miss the action at the top of the 2. Bundesliga: Schalke have already been promoted, but Bremen, Hamburg, Darmstadt, and St. Pauli are all still in contention for promotion. The 2. Bundesliga finishes its season on Sunday, when Bremen host Regensburg, Hamburg play in Rostock, Darmstadt host Paderborn, and St. Pauli host Düsseldorf.

By Rich

Hosts VfL Bochum defeated visitors DSC Arminia Bielefeld 2:1 on Friday, leaving Bielefeld in a precarious position in the last 2 weeks of the season. The hosts’ first goal came in the 22nd minute, when Sebastian Polter headed in a cross from Milos Pantovic. The visitors tied the score later in the first half, thanks to a header from Joakim Nilsson. The match’s final goal, though, came in the 89th minute, when the ball ricocheted off George Bello, resulting in an own goal and the Bochum win. The loss leaves Bochum 2 points behind VfB Stuttgart in the relegation play-off spot, with just 1 game remaining. Bayer Leverkusen will travel to Hoffenheim on Saturday, where a victory could fire the visitors back into the UEFA Champions League. Hoffenheim’s European aspirations can only be kept alive with a victory on Saturday and a Union Berlin loss or tie and/or a Köln loss. Union Berlin currently occupy 7th place, and are likely to qualify for European competition, thanks to Freiburg’s Pokal final appearance with Leipzig. The only question remaining for Freiburg are which European competition they will see: the club is currently in 4th place, the final Champions League berth, but only 1 point above Leipzig. Freiburg are also on the cusp of some key personnel changes, as Nico Schlotterbeck will be leaving for Dortmund over the summer while Matthias Ginter will be coming to the club from Gladbach. At the other end of the table, Hertha Berlin will be looking to secure their 1. Bundesliga survival when they host Mainz in Saturday’s late game. Hertha are now 4 points ahead of Stuttgart, and a win over Mainz would assure Hertha’s presence in the top flight next season. The visitors are safe in the middle of the table, having ended a 5-game winless streak last weekend with a surprise victory over league champions Bayern. Bayern will host Stuttgart on Sunday, in what is nearly a must-win match for the visitors. Stuttgart are just 2 points ahead of the automatic relegation spots and 4 points adrift of outright safety, thanks to a winless streak of 5 league matches. If Stuttgart were to be relegated at the end of the season, it would be their 5th change of division in just 7 years. The final match of the weekend is that on Sunday between hosts RB Leipzig and visitors FC Augsburg. While Leipzig look to keep their UEFA Champions League hopes alive, Augsburg have managed to assure their safety, thanks to 2 wins in the last 5 matches, and a final match next weekend against the already-relegated Fürth.

By Rich

Max Kruse had a hat-trick and Jonas Wind had a brace on Friday as hosts VfL Wolfsburg notched a decisive 5:0 victory over visitors 1. FSV Mainz 05. Wind’s first goal came just 8 minutes into the match, and was followed by Kruse’s first goal on a penalty kick in the 24th minute. Kruse increased the lead to 3:0 with another goal in the 35th minute, and Wind scored his second goal in the 42nd minute. The match’s final goal came in extra time at the end of the first half, when Max Kruse took advantage of the ball off Yannick Gerhardt. The hat-trick was Kruse’s first since November 2017, and Kruse now has 12 Bundesliga goals for the Wolves. Kruse’s first goal was the 800th goal Mainz has conceded in its history in the Bundesliga. On Saturday, all eyes turn to the 106th Klassiker between hosts FC Bayern München and visitors Borussia Dortmund, in what could well be the most important match of the season. Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski has accumulated 32 goals so far this season, propelling his club to a first-place position, 9 points clear of 2nd-place Dortmund going into this weekend. A victory on Saturday for the hosts would land them their 31st Bundesliga title. Dortmund are coming off a 6:1 victory over Wolfsburg last weekend, a victory that included 2 goals from striker Erling Haaland, ending his run of 5 matches without a goal. The reverse fixture earlier this season was won by Bayern, thanks to a brace from Lewandowski. In fact, Bayern have won the last 6 consecutive Bundesliga Klassikers, and haven’t lost at home to Dortmund since April 12, 2014. Elsewhere in the league on Saturday, RB Leipzig and 1. FC Union Berlin will have their second encounter in just 3 days, when Leipzig host Union. The 2 clubs met in the DFB Pokal semi-finals on Wednesday, and Leipzig prevailed 2:1 thanks to Emil Forsberg’s 92nd-minute goal. Both clubs are enjoying a fine run during the Rückrunde, with Leipzig picking up more points (32) than even Bayern (29), and Union on course for their highest-ever league finish. Looking ahead to Sunday, 3 of the clubs still in danger of relegation at the end of the season will play, when Augsburg travel to Bochum and Stuttgart travel to Hertha. Depending on results elsewhere this weekend, Bochum could secure their return next season if they defeat Augsburg, for whom automatic relegation is still a mathematical possibility. Both Hertha and Stuttgart must avoid defeat when they meet, as a loss could spell disaster for either. The clubs last played each other on Matchday 14, a game that ended in a draw.

By Rich

Bundesliga competition resumes on Saturday with just 4 matchdays remaining in the current season. Erling Haaland and Borussia Dortmund will host Max Kruse and VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday, and Haaland has gone 5 games without scoring since his return from injury at the beginning of March. Dortmund are 9 points behind Bayern with 5 games left to play, including Der Klassiker in München next week. Dortmund can secure their spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League group stage if they better Freiburg’s result against Bochum, also on Saturday. Wolfsburg have failed to win against Dortmund in 13 meetings, and did not even score in their last 5 outings to Dortmund. The big match on Saturday is the late encounter between hosts Borussia Mönchengladbach and nearby 1. FC Köln. The hosts are currently on a 4-match unbeaten streak, and are now 11 points clear of the relegation zone. Köln are in eighth place and just 1 point off the European qualification spots. Köln striker Anthony Modeste has 15 goals this season, and has scored 3 goals in 7 games for Köln against Gladbach. Although Köln have won the last 2 derbies, they have more Bundesliga losses against Gladbach than any other opponent. One other match to watch on Saturday will be that between hosts FC Augsburg and visitors Hertha Berlin, as the latter are desperate to climb out of the relegation zone. Augsburg have collected 10 points from the last 6 games, building a 6-point buffer between them and Hertha in 17th place and Bielefeld in 16th place. Hertha are currently tied on points with Bielefeld and just 1 point behind 15th-place Stuttgart, who will be coming to the German capital next weekend. Bielefeld will have to host Bayern on Sunday, a club they would rather not face in the closing weeks of the season while sitting in the relegation playoff spot. Bayern are, of course, concentrating now on collecting their tenth consecutive Bundesliga title, a title that could be theirs as soon as next weekend. Robert Lewandowski meanwhile has his sights set on a fifth consecutive top scorer’s cannon, and could set a new league record on Sunday of 18 Bundesliga away goals. The biggest match on Sunday will be that between hosts Bayer 04 Leverkusen and visitors RB Leipzig, who occupy the third and fourth spots in the table and who are separated by just 1 point. Leverkusen have been powered by Patrik Schick, whose 20 goals have helped keep his club in the top-4 mix for most of the season. He is opposed on Sunday by Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku, who has collected 17 goals and 12 assists. Leverkusen have won just 2 of 11 league meetings with Leipzig, but did win the reverse fixture earlier this season. As Leipzig prepare to play their 200th Bundesliga game, they have accumulated a record of 106 wins and just 43 losses.