Bundesliga Table 2015: Permutations and Scenarios for Final Day of the Season

Any two from six clubs could be relegated on the final day of the Bundesliga season, setting up what should be a thrilling finale to the campaign.

Paderborn and Hamburg currently occupy the bottom two spots, but VfB Stuttgart, Hannover 96, SC Freiburg and Hertha Berlin are all under threat, with just four points separating 13th and 18th position.

At the top, Bayern Munich were confirmed as champions long ago, while the other Champions League spots have also been set for weeks. Borussia Dortmund’s clash with Werder Bremen should be an intriguing tie however, with both sides in the hunt for a Europa League spot.

Here’s a look at how things are shaping up ahead of the final weekend and a glimpse at what needs to happen for certain sides to enjoy a prosperous end to the league season.

R	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Bayern Munich	33	24	4	5	78	18	+60	76
2	Wolfsburg	33	20	8	5	70	36	+34	68
3	Borussia M.Gladbach	33	19	9	5	52	23	+29	66
4	Bayer Leverkusen	33	17	10	6	61	35	+26	61
5	Schalke 04	33	13	9	11	42	38	+4	48
6	Augsburg	33	14	4	15	40	42	-2	46
7	Borussia Dortmund	33	12	7	14	44	40	+4	43
8	Werder Bremen	33	11	10	12	48	62	-14	43
9	Hoffenheim	33	11	8	14	47	54	-7	41
10	Mainz 05	33	9	13	11	45	45	0	40
11	Eintracht Frankfurt	33	10	10	13	54	61	-7	40
12	FC Cologne	33	9	12	12	32	38	-6	39
13	Hertha Berlin	33	9	8	16	35	50	-15	35
14	Freiburg	33	7	13	13	35	45	-10	34
15	Hannover 96	33	8	10	15	38	55	-17	34
16	VfB Stuttgart	33	8	9	16	40	59	-19	33
17	Hamburger SV	33	8	8	17	23	50	-27	32
18	Paderborn	33	7	10	16	30	63	-33	31

Date	Time (BST)	Fixture
Saturday, May 23	2:30 p.m.	Bayern Munich vs. Mainz 05
Saturday, May 23	2:30 p.m.	Borussia Dortmund vs. Werder Bremen
Saturday, May 23	2:30 p.m.	Borussia M.Gladbach vs. Augsburg
Saturday, May 23	2:30 p.m.	Hoffenheim vs. Hertha Berlin
Saturday, May 23	2:30 p.m.	Hannover 96 vs. Freiburg
Saturday, May 23	2:30 p.m.	Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Saturday, May 23	2:30 p.m.	Hamburger SV vs. Schalke 04
Saturday, May 23	2:30 p.m.	FC Cologne vs. Wolfsburg
Saturday, May 23	2:30 p.m.	Paderborn vs. VfB Stuttgart

Hamburg Desperate to Extend Bundesliga Stay

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

For those unfamiliar with the relegation permutations in the Bundesliga, two teams will be automatically relegated, while a third will face a playoff with the third-place team from Bundesliga II, with the winner taking their place in the top flight the following season.

A playoff is the best that Paderborn can hope for on the final day and they can give themselves an outside chance of securing that berth when they face VfB Stuttgart. However, as noted by DW Sports, they are looking doomed:

Hamburg are another side in big trouble and go into their game against Schalke 04 knowing that even a win might not be good enough. They need to beat their Ruhr-valley opponents, hope that the game between Hannover and Freiburg is not a draw and that Paderborn pick up something from their match in order to retain their Bundesliga status for next season.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

The club’s star goalkeeper Rene Adler still thinks they can haul themselves out of the mire, per Jens Fischer of the official Bundesliga website:

"

It’s out of our hands now and that’s an awful feeling. We just have to do our job against Schalke and hope the other results go our way.

We know how the table looks as well. We’re in a precarious position but we can still do it. There’s no point in saying everything’s lost right now, though, because I believe we’ll win against Schalke.

"

Michael Probst/Associated Press

If Bruno Labbadia’s side do drop out of the top flight, it’ll be a seismic relegation. After all, Hamburg are the only team to have been a regular feature in the Bundesliga since it was formed back in 1962.

However, in Gojko Kacar, HSV have a midfielder in red-hot form. He’s scored three goals in Hamburg’s last three games, per WhoScored.com and as noted by Cristian Nyari of FCBMedia, the 28-year-old has emerged as an unlikely hero for the relegation battlers:

Another intriguing game down at the bottom is the match between Freiburg and Hannover. The former grabbed a remarkable late winner against Bayern Munich last weekend to push them out of trouble and subsequently, they’ll be confident coming into this one. Indeed, provided Stuttgart don’t beat Paderborn, a point would be enough for each to survive.

Michael Probst/Associated Press

As noted by Bundesliga pundit Jan Aage Fjortoft, while Freiburg’s fellow relegation strugglers may have been quick to point the finger at the champions for easing off, when you’re in this position at the end of the season, you can only hold yourselves accountable:

The other bit of business on the final day is a clash between Dortmund and Bremen, with a Europa League spot up for grabs. If BVB avoid defeat then it’ll be theirs, but as Dortmund expert Luca notes, it’ll be the final day at the Westfalenstadion for a couple of club legends:

"

Four more days until Kehl's and Klopp's last home game. I can sense the tears already.

— Luca (@luc_bvb) May 19, 2015"

Michael Sohn/Associated Press

While Jurgen Klopp’s final game for Dortmund will be in the DFB Pokal final, it’s certainly going to be stirring when he waves goodbye to the home support for the final time. The same goes for Sebastian Kehl, who has been through the plunging lows and meteoric highs during his 14-year stint with the club.