Tight Race

Bayer Leverkusen's desultory 2-0 home loss to Schalke on Saturday did more than just heave the Royal Blues to the top of the table. It also means that, for the first time since the season began in earnest, Leverkusen are thinking more about third than first place.

After the match, Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes conceded that getting back to the standings summit was virtually "impossible," while sporting director Rudi Voeller told reporters: "We have to defend third place - it's no good talking about anything else."

After going undefeated through their first 24 matches, Leverkusen have lost three of their last four. The team, which has come up spectacularly short of winning silverware in the past, seems to be on the verge of another late-season collapse.

The next three weeks will be crucial to the Werkself's chances, with a home match against Bayern Munich being bookended by tough away encounters with Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Should Leverkusen fail to win at least two of those games, a pair of teams could nose past them into the Champions League qualification spot.

Yellow or green renaissance?

Dortmund may have been as lifeless as Leverkusen last Saturday, needing a refereeing blunder to salvage a point against cellar-dwellers Hertha, but don't be fooled. The former footballing giants are an almost even-money bet to return to the Champions League for the first time since 2003.

The men in yellow and black don't have any bona fide international stars, but coach Juergen Klopp has formed a squad that is solid from back to front and capable of pulling out close results.

21-year-old Nuri Sahin has emerged a force in midfield, equally adept at disrupting opponents' forays and sparking Dortmund attacks, while Argentinian striker Lucan Barrios has popped in 15 goals in his debut season in Germany. And their number 10 Mohamed Zidan has had such a consistent run of good form over the last three months that his name has begun appearing in the papers without being preceded by "enigmatic" or "mercurial" - something new for the Egyptian.

Moreover, Dortmund have arguably the easiest run-in for the league's final six matches. Their toughest test will come next weekend, when they host the only other team with a halfway realistic shot of cracking the top three.

Werder Bremen are undefeated in their last ten games in all competitions and have climbed to within five points of Leverkusen - one point behind Dortmund.

The men in green have the league's best offense but worries persist about their defense carelessly conceding goals. That tendency was again on display last Saturday, as Bremen almost squandered a three-goal lead against lowly Nuremberg.

"Apparently we always want to make things exciting and provide entertainment," Werder coach Thomas Schaaf said with a sigh after that match. "For us, there's no such as a relaxing game."

But in one respect, though, Bremen can relax. Their 2-nil win against second-division Augsburg last Tuesday qualifies them for the German Cup final. And since opponents Bayern Munich are virtually certain to land in the top five, that means Bremen are all but assured of a Europa League berth.

Schaaf's band of merry men can go for broke in an attempt to move up to the far more lucrative last Champions League spot. What's more, the Werder-Bayern constellation in the Cup final gives a host of others a chance at playing internationally as well.

Lucky number six?

If both Bayern and Bremen end up in the top five, the sixth-placed team - usually the odd one out – qualifies for the Europa League. And the squad that could perhaps most use this bit of good fortune is Hamburg.

After hanging around the top of the table for most of the season, Hamburg have lost three of their last five in the league, including an utterly listless 1-nil defeat to Moenchengladbach on Sunday.

Expectations were high at the start of the season since Hamburg invested heavily in new players, and the bosses are not pleased by the recent dip in form.

“That wasn't just too little, it was even less than that,” fumed Hamburg chairman Bernd Hoffmann after the Gladbach game.

Hamburg also have an easy run-in, but they're missing two key players - midfielder speedster Eljero Elia and defender Marcell Jansen - to injury, and don't have second-line players of their quality. Moreover, rumors are flying that coach Bruno Labbadia has lost the dressing room, and his head could be on the chopping block if things don't turn around.

Stuttgart, the best team thus far in 2010, has had to come from way back but is currently only three points behind Hamburg. Even perennial underachievers Frankfurt and faltering champions Wolfsburg have a chance of overtaking the Northern Germans for what will likely be Germany's last spot in European competition.

Stuttgart and Wolfsburg both have the experience and the firepower to put together a string of wins, and Wolves also have an easy run-in. Intriguingly, Frankfurt play Wolfsburg on the final day of the season in a match that could have more significance than anyone would have dared to imagine last fall.

In any case, the way things are looking right now there will be at least a couple of crucial matches to close the season on May 8 - with the winners claiming spots in Europe and the losers relegated to watching next season's international football on TV.

Author: Jefferson Chase
Editor: Matt Hermann