Football

Bundesliga Preview, Matchday 34: The Final Chapter

Bayern Munich’s French forward Kingsley Coman celebrates scoring during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Hertha BSC Berlin and FC Bayern Munich in Berlin on February 5, 2021. (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / POOL / AFP) / DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO


The 2020-21 Bundesliga season enters the final round as the German top flight enters matchday 34 with nine games are set to be decided simultaneously on Saturday.
The drama at the top end of the league has been settled with Bayern Munich crowned champions for a ninth consecutive season and also securing a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League, RasenBallsport Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg have been confirmed to join them as none of the top four teams will drop out of the coveted Champions League places no matter what happens on the final day. 
Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer 04 Leverkusen have also secured qualification for next season’s UEFA Europa League. 
Where the drama lies is at the lower ranks of the table as the race to survive relegation spots enters the final lap to decide who will join FC Schalke 04 in the second division.
15th placed Arminia Bielefeld who have 32 points are a place and a point outside the relegation/promotion playoff position and two points and two places off the automatic relegation zone. 16th placed Werder Bremen occupies the relegation/promotion playoff spot with 31 points and 17th placed 1. FC Köln have 30 points.
Bielefeld will travel to the Mercedes-Benz Arena to battle 9th placed VfB Stuttgart who have nothing to play for.
Stuttgart have amassed 45 points this season and all Bielefeld need to do to confirm their safety is to win, a draw might also do the job but they will need results elsewhere to swing in their favour.
Bremen will host eighth placed Borussia Mönchengladbach, needing Bielefeld to drop points and for them to win in order to secure another season in the top flight.
Köln on the other hand will need both Bremen and Bielefeld to drop points and they have a much easier task in front of them as they will entertain bottom club Schalke 04.
Schalke have recorded just three wins in the 33 games this campaign and they will attempt to bring their opponents to the lower league and kill their aspirations just like they did to Frankfurt’s Champions League dreams with their 4-3 win on Saturday.
Reigning and newly crowned champions Bayern will play host to FC Augsburg at the Allianz Arena.
Robert Lewandowski netted his 40th goal of the campaign in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with SC Freiburg to tie Gerd Muller’s record of most goals in a season, a record set in the 1971-72 season.
The Polish marksman will look to break the record against an Augsburg side who are placed 12th and in what will be Hansi Flick’s final game in charge of the Bavarian outfit as he will leave his role as head coach of the side at the end of the season.
Flick’s replacement is RB Leipzig’s current head coach, Julian Nagelsmann.
Nagelsmann will tutor second placed Leipzig for the final time when they trade tackles with seventh placed 1. FC Union Berlin who have been the surprise package of the season.
Union have punched above their weight this season as they have amassed 47 points this season after registering 11 wins, 14 draws and eight losses, which saw them to narrowly miss out on European football for next season.
The fit and firing duo of Jadon Sancho and Erling Braut Haaland fired Dortmund to a DFB Pokal Cup triumph and into the Champions League as they sit third with 61 points.
Erdin Terzic’s side will welcome sixth placed Leverkusen to the Signal Iduna Park.
Although, one of their devastating duo could move on, which is most likely Sancho, Dortmund have hope to challenge next season with the flurry of youngsters mixed with experience.
Fourth placed Wolfsburg will battle 13th placed 1. FSV Mainz 05, who are safe from the drop zone, on Saturday.
Following their two-all draw with Leipzig on Sunday, Wolfsburg defied the odds to secure a place among Europe’s elite next season but Mainz will also look to bounce back from Sunday’s home loss to Dortmund.
Frankfurt dropped to fifth place after their loss to Schalke and painfully missed out on Champions League football for next season.
They will attempt to pour out their frustration when they go toe-to-toe with 10th placed SC Freiburg.
11th placed 1899 Hoffenheim will face 14th placed Hertha Berlin in a game with nothing at stake.
Fixtures.VfB Stuttgart vs Arminia BielefeldWerder Bremen vs Borussia MönchengladbachEintracht Frankfurt vs SC FreiburgUnion Berlin vs RB LeipzigWolfsburg vs Mainz 05Köln vs Schalke 04Bayern Munich vs AugsburgHoffenheim vs Hertha BerlinBorussia Dortmund vs Bayer Leverkusen


Sammy Wejinya

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