by Oliver Trust
BERLIN, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Bundesliga's final matchday of the 2025/26 season this Saturday will deliver nail-biting races for European competition and avoiding relegation.
While Stuttgart, Hoffenheim, and Leverkusen battle for the last remaining UEFA Champions League spot, Freiburg, Frankfurt, and Augsburg eye a start in the Conference League, playing it out over position seven.
The relegation fight between Wolfsburg, Heidenheim, and St. Pauli seems to cap it all as all three enter the final with 26 points. While Heidenheim hosts Mainz, St. Pauli fights directly with Wolfsburg at home.
Intensive calculating seems required during the 90 minutes, as the outcome in each case depends on the competitor's performance.
As a direct rescue is impossible for the struggling bottom trio, position 16 is the goal, coming along with two so-called relegation games against the second-tier third.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Both Stuttgart (61 points/plus 22 goals) and Heidenheim (61/plus 17) enter the race with an advantage over Leverkusen (58/plus 21), but their standing depends on their rivals' results in the event of a victory.
While Stuttgart faces an away game in Frankfurt (still competing for the Conference League), Hoffenheim (in Monchengladbach), and Leverkusen (HSV at home) enjoy duels against teams far from tempting targets.
The two "losers" go to the Europa League, while Bayern, Dortmund, and Leipzig have already secured their Champions League participation.
Freiburg might join the Champions League, but it needs to beat Premier League side Aston Villa in the 2026 Europa League final on May 20th in Istanbul.
Media reports indicate that Leverkusen coach Kasper Hjulmand is set to be sacked following a disappointing season.
CONFERENCE LEAGUE
Freiburg (44 points/minus 9 goals) is hosting Leipzig, while Frankfurt (43/minus 4) meets Stuttgart, and Augsburg (43/minus 12) travels to Union.
RELEGATION
Heidenheim is eyeing a miracle, as the side of coach Frank Schmidt seemed written off after matchday 25 on March 7th, when it suffered a ten-point setback to position 16.
On matchday 27, March 21, Schmidt, the longest-serving coach in German football, cited the 3-3 draw against Leverkusen as a turning point.
Step by step, the side gained ground, including a 3-3 draw in Munich, and somehow felt as if there was nothing left to lose. ■
