Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga: Europe, Relegation, Promotion and Play-offs, What Does Each Team Still Need to Qualify? | OneFootball

FC Bayern winning their thirty-third Meisterschaft is a first piece of silverware for England captain Harry Kane. The Torjägerkanone, the cannon-shaped trophy awarded for the league’s top scorer, his second in as many seasons, may still follow. In terms of European places, Bayer Leverkusen’s Champions League spot is also confirmed, but who else will follow? And who will have to fight the hated sixteenth v third relegation playoff, which has produced so many upsets in the past?

In the 2. Bundesliga HSV are promoted, 1. FC Köln will either finish in second, an automatic promotion spot, or in third and play the promotion matches against the 16th of the Bundesliga. In the second tier, two of the relegated teams are decided at the other end, but the playoff against the third in the 3. Liga is still open. What are the potential outcomes? What do the teams need? Here is a look:

Champions League

Two Champions League places go to Meister FC Bayern and Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

There are three contenders for the remaining two places: Eintracht Frankfurt (3rd place, 57 points, goal difference +20), SC Freiburg (4th place, 55 points, -2), and Borussia Dortmund (5th place, 54 points, +17).

Freiburg and Frankfurt will face off on Saturday in a race for the final Champions League spots. If the two clubs take points off each other, BVB will have their fate in their own hands against Holstein Kiel and can grab a spot in the Champions League.

Eintracht Frankfurt will be in the Champions League if they win or draw against Freiburg. Frankfurt will drop out of the CL places and play the Europa League next season if they lose, and BVB will win by at least two goals against Kiel.

SC Freiburg will reach the Champions League if they win against Frankfurt or draw against Frankfurt and BVB does not win against Kiel. Freiburg can still qualify if they lose against Frankfurt, if BVB lose to Kiel. Freiburg drop out of the UCL places and play the Europa League next season if Dortmund pick up more points than them on matchday 34.

Borussia Dortmund will be in the Champions League if they win with at least a two-goal difference against Kiel, if BVB wins and Freiburg does not win, or if BVB draws and Freiburg loses. BVB can still qualify if they win with a goal difference and Frankfurt loses with at least a two-goal difference.

A place in the Europa League is reserved for the DFB Pokal winner, either VfB Stuttgart or Arminia Bielefeld.

In terms of the remaining Europa League and one Conference League place, BVB could even slip down to sixth place and the Europa League, even if that is rather unlikely with a three-point lead and a significantly better goal difference (+17) compared to Mainz 05 (+12) and RB Leipzig (+6). BVB can already plan for at least fifth place and participation in the Europa League.

Mainz 05 will be looking to bag sixth place and thus qualification for the Conference League playoffs. To do so, they will need a win at home against Leverkusen. If Mainz draw

RB Leipzig, currently level on points, shouldn’t win against VfB Stuttgart either. Leipzig must pick up more points than Mainz on Saturday to snatch sixth place. If they are level on points, Mainz has the advantage on goal difference.

Werder (48 points, -6) also has a purely theoretical outside chance of finishing 6th and gaining that Conference League place. However, they would have to make up three points, an astonishing 18 goals on Mainz, and three and twelve on Leipzig to do so.

Relegation playoff

VfL Bochum and Holstein Kiel are already relegated, but who is still in danger of having to play the relegation game, likely against Elversberg, Paderborn, or Fortuna Düsseldorf?

Either Heidenheim or Hoffenheim will go into the relegation playoff. Hoffenheim has three points more than Heidenheim and a better goal difference (-18 to -24). Therefore, Hoffenheim will only need to win one point, although they are at home against FC Bayern, so they have the harder programme.

Heidenheim will need to hope for some help from the champions, win as heavily as possible against Bremen, and hope for a heavy loss for Hoffenheim. It will not be enough for Heidenheim to equal their goal difference, which is currently six goals worse. As Hoffenheim has scored significantly more goals (46) than Heidenheim (36), Hoffenheim would still be saved if they were tied on points and had the same goal difference.

2. Bundesliga

The 34th match day in Bundesliga 2 is upon us. HSV has been promoted, and the final decisions will be made this weekend. Five teams are still within grasp of the Bundesliga, and three clubs are fighting to avoid relegation.

Cologne aims to clinch automatic promotion against Kaiserslautern, while Kaiserslautern aims for third place and the playoffs.

HSV has already been promoted, and it is also clear that the two teams promoted in 23/24, Jahn Regensburg and SSV Ulm, have been relegated straight back to the 3. Liga, the third tier.

Second-placed Köln (58 points, +11 goals) has the best cards for an automatic promotion spot. A draw in front of their home crowd would be enough for them to secure it. Their opponents are sixth-placed 1. FC Kaiserslautern (53, +5) still have their sights set on third place but need a win and a slip-up from their rivals to do so.

Köln could even lose and be promoted directly. Still, SV Elversberg, who were also newly promoted in 23/24 (55, +26), need to lose at Schalke 04, and SC Paderborn (55, +13), who play at Karlsruher SC, would not be allowed to win due to their superior goal difference.

Meanwhile, Fortuna Düsseldorf (53, +7) still hopes for the promotion playoff, but it will have to win at Magdeburg and also hope for a slip-up of the other two.

Relegation playoff

The battle to stay in the league is similarly exciting, although only three teams have to tremble. SpVgg Greuther Fürth, in 14th place, is currently in the best position, but it has to win at home against HSV. This is because Fürth (36, -15) is just one point ahead of Preussen Münster (35, -3) and Eintracht Braunschweig (35, -23).

Münster have the supposedly most straightforward task, taking on relegated Ulm. Braunschweig, meanwhile, will host 1. FC Nürnberg, for whom nothing is at stake, but a defeat could spell doom for their great rivals from the neighbouring city of Fürth.

The battle for the top scorer in the second tier is between Hamburg’s Davie Selke on 22 goals and Kaiserslautern’s Ragnar Ache, Elversberg’s Fisnik Asllani, and Magdeburg’s Martjin Kaars, all on 18.