BERLIN (AP) — Five teams are battling to stay in the Bundesliga with two matches left, while Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen are tied on points ahead of a high-stakes Champions League spot.
Hoffenheim is also in a three-team battle for fourth place and the final spot guaranteed to qualify for the Champions League.
Depending on Freiburg’s international success, Germany could still claim five Champions League spots. Freiburg fell behind 2-1 to Braga ahead of Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg.
Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga champions, eliminated from the Champions League They will face defending champions Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday’s semi-final.
major matches
Leverkusen visit Stuttgart on Saturday knowing that Hoffenheim could win against relegation-threatened Werder Bremen, who are in danger of being relegated even with a defeat or even a draw, at the same time as an advantage.
Bremen are just above the relegation zone, one of five teams still in danger.
Wolfsburg moved into the relegation play-offs last weekend and now face a visit from Bayern, who will be looking to bounce back from their disappointment against PSG. placed last Heidenheim beat Bayern They are now 3-3 between their two meetings with PSG, meaning the Bavarian giants have not won three games in a row.
St. Pauli, second from bottom without a win in eight games, face a tough battle against third-placed Leipzig on Saturday. If Leipzig wins, they will qualify for the Champions League.
Heidenheim wants Wolfsburg and St. Pauli to suffer defeats, preferably big ones, and a win in Cologne on Sunday could put them in the relegation play-off places. But Cologne is still not safe either.
Union Berlin regained their first point under new coach Marie-Louise Eta against Cologne last weekend. Union will be reunited with Mainz coach Urs Fischer on Sunday as Etta seeks his first win. Both teams cannot avoid relegation.
Featured players
Bayern’s Lennart Karl returned from a hamstring injury in the final minutes of Wednesday’s game against PSG. Karl, 18, needs more playing time at Wolfsburg to prove his suitability to represent Germany at the World Cup.
Patrik Schick scored a hat-trick against Leipzig last weekend and has hit his stride at the perfect time for Leverkusen, taking his tally to six goals in three games.
Harry Kane has scored 55 goals in all competitions, including the German Super Cup.
Budu Zivzivadze of Heidenheim Ellen Dinksi He scored against Bayern last weekend. If Frank Schmidt’s side are somehow able to pull off a great escape, it will be largely due to his two forwards.
Who is out?
St. Pauli’s hopes of staying on have been hit by injuries to defenders Jannik Robacz, Karol Metz and Manolis Thaliakas, who are likely to be out for the rest of the season.
Borussia Dortmund defender Ramy Bensebaini will miss the remaining two matches, Friday’s game against Eintracht Frankfurt and next week’s game against Bremen, due to a foot injury. Coach Niko Kovac said there was no doubt that he would represent Algeria at the World Cup.
off the field
Bayern captain Manuel Neuer’s future remains uncertain, with the club awaiting a decision on whether the 40-year-old goalkeeper will play another year. He may wait until the German Cup final between Bayern and Stuttgart at Berlin’s Olympiastadion on May 23 before making a decision.
Defender Conrad Reimer has one year left on his contract with the club. Negotiations over a new contract are ongoing, but the player will have to keep his expectations in check following comments from Bayern powerbroker Uli Hoeness.
“He works incredibly hard for the team, but he is not Maradona and a player like that has to accept that he has limits,” Hoeneß said.
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