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Bundesliga 2: A congested promotion race and goals by the bucket load

Bundesliga 2 is up to its old tricks again in 2024/25, with at least half of the division in contention for promotion with just four matches of the season remaining. We bring you all the latest in what is surely Europe's most intriguing and competitive league!

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To understand what has made the 2024/25 Bundesliga 2 season as gripping as could possibly be imagined, let’s first have a look at the table. Former Bundesliga giants Cologne and Hamburg lead the way, seemingly so close to sealing a return to the promised land of the top flight - yet also so far, with a slender advantage heading into the final furlongs of the season in April and May.

Cologne are currently top of the pile on 54 points, with Hamburg just one point behind - with surprise package Elversberg - in just their second-ever second-tier campaign - in fourth, just one point behind third-placed Magdeburg heading into the final four matchdays of the season.

Magdeburg's current tally of 49 points and 58 goals scored is a club best, and has seen them sit within the top three after 11 different matchdays this season.

Damion Downs was on the scoresheet as Cologne recorded a vital victory over Preußen Münster on Matchday 30. (IMAGO/Maximilian Koch)

The chasing pack behind Magdeburg and Elversberg are staggeringly tightly packed - with fifth-placed Paderborn just four points clear of Nuremberg and Karlsruhe in eighth and ninth, and former division champions Kaiserslautern just two points behind them in seventh.

Previous league leaders Fortuna Düsseldorf, who came so close to making the jump into the Bundesliga last year, are level on points with both Elversberg and Paderborn in sixth, completing the congested top half of the table.

Matchday 30 saw just three of the top nine win, demonstrating just how unpredictable this league can be. One of those three teams was Cologne, who took their seat at the top for the first time since Matchday 27.

The Billy-Goats' success in this second part of the season is in large part down to their defence, which has conceded a league-best of just 12 goals in 2025.

These hard-fought battles for points have still seen plenty of goals though, with a massive 809 scored up until this point across the campaign. Fans of yet another former Bundesliga giant, Schalke, have certainly had no lack of entertainment - their side may be down in 13th, but their matches have averaged a league-high 3.47 goals this season, with a thrilling 3-3 draw at Greuther Fürth on Matchday 27 true to form.

On the topic of goals, Matchday 26 saw Paderborn win 5-3 at home to Kaiserslautern and Hertha Berlin (yes, one more set of former Bundesliga big boys) race to a 5-1 victory at Eintracht Braunschweig. Paderborn's promotion rivals, Elversberg, then went and put six past Jahn Regensburg on Matchday 28.

Paderborn's jump into fifth means they are right in the promotion mix - a rise which has been helped by their knack for late goals; they've scored 19 in the final 15 minutes of games, a league best.

Those thrill-a-minute results have been recurring all season. Matchday 19 saw four or more goals scored in six out of nine games, including six in Lautern's 4-2 win over Greuther Fürth and Ulm's 5-1 win over Regensburg. Seven goals were scored in Magdeburg's 5-2 defeat of Düsseldorf on Matchday 17, a result which threw further chaos into the top 10 mix, before Magdeburg went and recorded the exact same scoreline the following week in their win over Elversberg - of course, both of these games were away from home for Magdeburg, who remain in the promotion mix despite not winning at home until February!

If those results don’t grab your attention, then let’s take a look at Matchday 10, which witnessed 11 goals scored in the game between Nuremberg and Regensburg. With the game tied at 3-3, it looked like struggling Regensburg would possibly secure some much-needed points in a thrilling encounter, only for the hosts to score five goals in the last half-hour of the game. That contest went into the history books, taking its place as the joint second-highest scoring game ever in Germany’s second tier.

Watch: Nuremberg 8-3 Regensburg - highlights

Kaiserslautern won 4-3 away to Düsseldorf on the same day. At that point, Fortuna had lost just once after nine games and were sat at the top of the table, eight points ahead of the 11th-placed Red Devils - they then switched places before landing in their current positions, although both are still in the Bundesliga hunt.

As well as Kaiserslautern have done up to now, they'll be frustrated having fallen away from the top of the table. More than half of the sides in Bundesliga 2 have found themselves in the top three at some point this season, creating an enthralling race for promotion. Cologne - relegated from the Bundesliga at the end of 2023/24 - are one of those aiming to return to the big time and have moved into top spot at a crucial, perhaps even perfect, point of the season.

Although the Billy-Goats have lost eight matches so far this season, they clocked up three narrow wins in a row at the end of March to move ahead of Hamburg to the summit - the fourth time this campaign they have landed a hat-trick of consecutive victories under Gerhard Struber. Hamburg may have surrendered their place at the top of the league for now, but they remain the division's highest scorers, with 65 strikes from their first 30 matches. They also have the lead's top goalscorer, 19-goal Davie Selke, amongst their ranks.

It is not just the number of goals that has been eye-catching, but also the way they have occurred. The Matchday 8 meeting between Magdeburg and Greuther Fürth saw two of the most comical penalties you’re likely to see awarded. Magdeburg took the lead after Fürth’s Gideon Jung picked up a pass from his goalkeeper, not realising play had been restarted; he thought his blushes had been spared when Mo El Hankouri‘s effort was saved, only for him the forward to tap home seconds later.

At the other end, Daniel Heber made a similar mistake not long before half-time. Eager to protest what he thought would be called as a foul when Roberto Massimo was tackled just outside the area, Heber picked up the ball and headed toward referee Bastian Dankert – before a whistle had been blown. A penalty was award to Fürth, which was slotted home by Julian Green, before Fürth went on to equalise through Noel Futkeu in the second half.

With four decisive matchdays remaining in the 2024/25 campaign, the promotion race remains way too tight to call. One thing is for certain though - you can strap yourself in and prepare for more incredible twists and goals aplenty over the dramatic weeks of destiny ahead in Bundesliga 2 this spring.

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