Bundesliga relegation battle and Champions League fight to go down to the wire on final matchday

TL;DR

The Bundesliga relegation battle and Champions League qualification will be decided on the final matchday, with three teams tied at 26 points fighting to avoid relegation. VfL Wolfsburg, FC Heidenheim, and FC St. Pauli will determine their fate in crucial matches, while VfB Stuttgart, TSG Hoffenheim, and Bayer 04 Leverkusen vie for the last Champions League spot.

Key points

Bundesliga relegation battle involves Wolfsburg, Heidenheim, and St. Pauli.
All three teams are tied at 26 points before the final matchday.
Wolfsburg and St. Pauli will play each other, while Heidenheim faces Mainz 05.
Champions League spot contention includes Stuttgart, Hoffenheim, and Leverkusen.
Final matches will kick off simultaneously on Saturday.

VfL WolfsburgFC HeidenheimFC St. PauliVfB Stuttgart

WOLFSBURG, GERMANY - MAY 09: Harry Kane of FC Bayern Munich misses a penalty during the Bundesliga match between VfL Wolfsburg and FC Bayern München at Volkswagen Arena on May 09, 2026 in Wolfsburg, Germany. (Photo by Oliver Hardt/Getty Images) | Getty Images While the Bundesliga title race was wrapped up long ago, the other end of the table might be in for the fiercest battle it has seen in a while. As of now, the bottom three teams in the league are as follows: Bayern Munich’s most recent opponent VfL Wolfsburg in 16th, FC Heidenheim in 17th, and FC St. Pauli in 18th. Heidenheim were able to escape rock bottom with their 3-1 win over FC Köln. Here’s the kicker: the three teams are all level on 26 points. This means that the result on the final matchday will ultimately decide who stays to fight in the relegation playoff, and who goes directly down to the 2. Bundesliga. What makes it even spicier is that the three teams are only separated by three goals, with Wolfsburg on -26 and both Heidenheim and St. Pauli on -29 in goal difference. And if that was not enough, Wolfsburg and St. Pauli face each other on the final matchday, with St. Pauli hosting the match. Meanwhile, Heidenheim welcome Mainz 05 to their backyard. Mainz are in patchy form at the moment, with them playing against at the time of writing, and since Heidenheim have only lost one of their last five matches and won three, there is no guarantee of what will happen. That said, Mainz are no strangers to throwing pepper on someone else’s party, just ask what happened in 2023. On a slightly less fiery note, the final Champions League spot will also be decided on the final matchday. Bayern’s DFB-Pokal final opponents currently hold the advantage in 4th place, but are breathing down their necks in 5th, level on points and five goals behind. Three points behind those two are , who actually have a better goal difference than Hoffenheim, only a goal behind Stuttgart. So a possible win for Leverkusen could shake up the table if Stuttgart and Hoffenheim both stumble. Among these three, Stuttgart arguably have the hardest draw on Matchday 34, as they visit 8th placed . Hoffenheim and Leverkusen play and , who are 12th and 11th, respectively. Hoffenheim has to go to Mönchengladbach, while Leverkusen are hosting . All matches kick off at the same time on Saturday. While Bayern fans will most likely be looking forward to the post-match Meisterschale celebration, the rest of the league will be either mildly amused or sweating bullets for the final 90 minutes of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. *If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on , , , or any leading podcast distributor…*

Q&A

Which teams are fighting for relegation in the Bundesliga?

VfL Wolfsburg, FC Heidenheim, and FC St. Pauli are the three teams battling for relegation, all currently tied at 26 points.

What are the matchups for the final Bundesliga matchday?

Wolfsburg will face St. Pauli, while Heidenheim will host Mainz 05 on the final matchday.

How is the Champions League qualification affected on the final matchday?

VfB Stuttgart, TSG Hoffenheim, and Bayer 04 Leverkusen are competing for the final Champions League spot, with all three teams in close contention.

What is the goal difference among the relegation-threatened teams?

Wolfsburg has a goal difference of -26, while both Heidenheim and St. Pauli have -29.

Bundesliga relegation battle and Champions League fight to go down to the wire on final matchday

TL;DR

Key points

Q&A

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