Near the end

Saturday, 7 May

Schalke - Mainz

There's no way of getting around this: Schalke were beaten like a drum on Wednesday at Old Trafford. And they have nothing to play for in this fixture, with European qualification through the league long since written off. Not exactly a recipe for a motivated Royal Blues team, but they can take heart that Mainz might not be all that up for it either. Anything short of a total blackout in the season's final two matches, combined with two wins for Nuremberg, will see them qualify for the Europa League. A just-for-fun kick-around then, and one in which we think Mainz will add to its record as the league's third-best team away from home.

Prediction: 3-2 Mainz

Bremen-Dortmund

After winning the title on Saturday, many members of the Dortmund squad were out all night. They didn't assemble again for practice again until Wednesday. They will have absolutely no pressure bearing down on them coming into this game. Too bad for Werder, because it has seemed that Dortmund play best when there's little on the line. News came this week that Bremen are already looking ahead to next year, sounding out Nuremberg's Bayern loan player Mehmet Ekici for a move north, but the truth is they still need points now to remove the threat of relegation. We don't think this will be their week to do it.

Prediction: 2-0 Dortmund

Leverkusen - Hamburg

One more win is all it will take for Leverkusen to cement its grip on second place, and with it automatic qualification to the Champions League. Sounds easy enough, especially in that opponents Hamburg's squad looks totally disjointed ahead of a summer that is sure to bring a clear-out. But then again, signs emerging from chemical city are not that harmonious either. Chilean midfield ace Arturo Vidal, who has flirted with a summer move for months, has said he's keeping his mouth shut until the season concludes. Sorry, but you don't do that if you're staying. And goalkeeper Rene Adler reportedly turned down a 3-million-euro per year contract extension, saying he was thinking more like five per. With so much behind-the-scenes intrigue, we can't see either squad staying focused enough to win.

Prediction: 1-1 draw

Stuttgart - Hanover

Time will tell if Hanover's rise to European player status and Stuttgart's fall to relegation scrappers this year will hold, or if it will soon seem like the 8th season of Dallas: all a dream. In the here and now though, it's fascinating. Stuttgart have come alive over the past couple of months, putting together an impressive streak in which they've taken 20 points from the last nine matches. Hanover have not been so steady, and may indeed be mentally shot after losing to Gladbach and blowing their chance to hold off Bayern for the Champions League qualifying spot last week. But Hanover is strong enough on the road to keep their date at the Benz close.

Prediction: 2-1 Stuttgart

Wolfsburg - Kaiserslautern

Pretty open-and-shut this one. Wolfsburg need points, and lately seem to have learned how to get them, with wins over Cologne and Werder under their belts. Kaiserslautern are on a good run too, but don't need anything - and have never won in Wolfsburg. The most compelling storyline here might be the play of Srdjan Lakic, who's on his way from ‘Lautern to the Wolves in the summer. As if to clear the air of conflict-of-interest storylines, the striker said this week that he wants to show fans of his future club what he's capable of. If he wants to play top-flight football next year, those skills ought to include shooting wide, again and again.

Prediction: 1-0 Wolfsburg

Frankfurt - Cologne

After their abject display last week in Mainz, it was decided that Eintracht Frankfurt needed a change. So they decamped to Bitburg, where they could focus on preparations for this game against Cologne…and get away from the death threats of their ultras. Yes, Eintracht's black-hoodie-wearing vanguard (who already had a bad reputation) reached a new low this week. Their menacing behavior caused Frankfurt police to recommend Eintracht cancel practice on Monday…because they couldn't guarantee the team's safety. It's not exactly a boon, then, for Frankfurt to be playing at home this week. Cologne are still rubbish away though, so we think it could go either way…or no one's.

Prediction: 0-0 draw

Mönchengladbach - Freiburg

You didn't root against Steve McQueen in the film, and it's just bad form to do so in this year's version of the Great Escape, starring Lucien Favre and Marco Reus. The obsessive Swiss coach has drilled the once-sloppy Gladbach into a miserly defensive unit, and the little lad from Dortmund (imagine if BVB had held onto him!) has figured out how to use his considerable skills in getting his team much-needed wins. Freiburg looked good last week, but that was against Hamburg, as flaccid a mid-table side as you could hope for. We're going all in with the foals.

Prediction: 2-1 Gladbach

Nuremberg - Hoffenheim

The Club still has a chance of overhauling Mainz for the last berth into Europe, but it's an outside one. And the elephant that has been in Nuremberg's room all year is beginning to loom ever larger: their best players might not care whether they get into Europe, because they'll be playing elsewhere next year. Ekici, as mentioned above, is in talks with Bremen; Ilkay Gündogan is off to Dortmund, and Julian Schieber is headed back to Stuttgart. These three have scored 15 of Nuremburg's 45 goals on the season, and without them Nuremberg would almost surely be fighting off the drop. Hoffenheim have never been that bad off, but new coach Holger Stanislavki will have his hands full in the off-season, most of all in trying to instill an ethic of consistency in the squad. This year's Hoffenheim were among the league's most erratic performers - they opened with three wins on the trot, but managed back-to-back wins just once thereafter. They've lost the last two weeks, so...

Prediction: 2-0 Hoffenheim

St. Pauli - Bayern Munich

All Bayern might have to do this weekend in Hamburg is get out of the way. St. Pauli are dropping like a stone, hell-bent on the drop. They have taken one point from a possible 30 in the last three months - just the kind of consistency the outgoing Stanislavski will want to bring to Hoffenheim, only the other way around. St. Pauli have eight first-team squad members out injured, while Bayern, who could probably win this one with their reserves, are at full strength. We expect a slaughter.

Prediction: 4-1 Bayern

Last week's results: 4

Total for the season: 143

Bremen - Wolfsburg 0:1 (DW pick: 2-1)

Kaiserslautern - St. Pauli 2-0 (DW pick: 3-0)

Dortmund - Nuremberg 2-0 (DW pick: 3-1)

Hamburg - Freiburg 0-2 (DW pick: 1-0)

Mainz- Frankfurt 3-0 (DW pick: 1-0)

Hoffenheim - Stuttgart 1-2 (DW pick: 2-2)

Cologne - Leverkusen 2-0 (DW pick 0-2)

Hanover - Gladbach 0-1 (DW pick: 3-0)

Bayern - Schalke 4-1 (DW pick 1-1)

Author: Matt Hermann
Editor: Nicole Goebel