'Huge game of ludo' - Hoffenheim await twist in Champions League race

Hoffenheim coach Christian Ilzer expects a "huge game of ludo" as the Bundesliga concludes on Saturday with his side one of three looking to snatch a Champions League spot in a dramatic finale.

Champions Bayern Munich, second-placed Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig in third have already secured their passage to next season's league phase of Europe's top club competition.

VfB Stuttgart, Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen are battling for the final spot from the league, with Freiburg possibly also grabbing a Champions League berth if they win the Europa League final next Wednesday.

Hoffenheim head to Borussia Mönchengladbach level on points with fourth-placed Stuttgart but behind on goal difference by five goals. Leverkusen are three points back and host Hamburg SV. Stuttgart travel to Eintracht Frankfurt, who are in the running for a Conference League place.

Ilzer told a news conference on Friday: "We go into the final game with a lot of confidence. The aim is never to play in a final, the aim is always to win a final. Our mission is coming to an end, we want to squeeze everything possible out just one last time."

Hoffenheim were relegation candidates last term but shrewd recruitment and good management from Austrian Ilzer, who was under pressure last term, have given the south-west club a fighting chance of a first return to the Champions League since 2018.

"It's like a huge game of ludo. Three clubs already have all their pieces home, we are now sitting at a table with Leverkusen and Stuttgart for the last Champions League place. Tomorrow comes the final throw, and after 90 minutes the die will have been cast.

"But regardless of the result it is an incredibly successful season for Hoffenheim. Of course there will be someone who keeps an eye on results elsewhere - but we have to do what we can influence."