Nine becomes five - Bundesliga relegation candidates whittled down
Mainz, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hamburg SV and Union Berlin are quietly celebrating after avoiding Bundesliga relegation, but there are contrasting emotions among the five still at risk of the drop. Wolfsburg's 1-1 draw at Frieburg and St Pauli's 2-1 loss to Mainz on Sunday mean Cologne and Werder Bremen have a six-point advantage over the Wolves in the relegation play-off spot and second-bottom St Pauli in the automatic places. Heidenheim are three further points adrift.
A significantly better goal difference than the rest also boosts Cologne, meaning that barring an absolute calamity where they ship lots of goals in their last two games, they have clung on. Bremen's goal difference is better than the last three but is only five more than Wolfsburg and eight more than St Pauli. And while St Pauli have not won in eight games, Wolfsburg and Heidenheim are showing signs of life.
Veteran coach Dieter Hecking is confident that 2009 champions Wolfsburg will at least finish in the play-off spot and face the third-placed team in the second division. "You can see that we want to play football and are not a typical relegation side – and we are continuing to develop. That’s why it’s no coincidence that we are currently stable and have now gone three games unbeaten," he said.
What really makes the relegation dog-fight interesting is that Wolfsburg go to St Pauli on the final day on May 16. Before that, the Wolves host a distracted Bayern Munich side who have already won the title and are thinking about other competitions. Next weekend, Hamburg-based St Pauli go to third-placed RB Leipzig, who are not yet assured of the Champions League.
Heidenheim, whose goal difference is only slightly worse than Wolfsburg and St Pauli, visit Cologne and welcome Mainz. They won the relegation play-off against Elversberg last term to stay up.