The European Football Race On The Bundesliga Final Day

The Bundesliga Final Day

The Final day of the Bundesliga season is upon us, all eighteen sides kick off their final fixtures on saturday afternoon. The league returned to normal ways, with Bayern Munich coming out as league winners, with an eight point gap to second place and last season winners Bayer Leverkusen.

Harry Kane gets his first ever major trophy in his career, as well as taking home the golden boot for his twenty five goals scored this season. Former Crystal Palace man Michael Olise also enjoyed his first season in Germany, scoring eleven league goals and finishing with the league's highest assists of fourteen.

Even though the title is decided, there is still more left to unfold at the top end of the Bundesliga table on the final day.

Bundesliga table after MD33 pic.twitter.com/488M8S9b7n

— Bayern News world (@BayernNewsw) May 14, 2025

Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund had a tough start to the season under Nuri Sahin, but have slowly made their way back up the table under Croatian Niko Kovac. Dortmund are now nine games unbeaten, and are still within a chance of qualifying for Champions League football on the final day.

They would require Frankfurt to lose in order to catch them, whilst they would only need fourth place Freiburg to drop points in order to overtake them with a win. Dortmund face Holstein Keil on the final day, who are already confirmed as relegated, so they have nothing to play for, which will of course play into the hands of a fired up Dortmund side.

Freiburg Vs Frankfurt

What makes the Champions League fight even more interesting is that Frankfurt and Freiburg will in fact play against each other on the last day. This could guarantee Borussia Dortmund a top four spot, with any result enough for Dortmund to break into the top four as long as they win. A draw would be enough for Dortmund as long as Freiburg lose, due to Dortmund's goal difference being considerably higher.

A Frankfurt win would see them guaranteed a spot in the Champions League, and would of course mean Freiburg lose, which opens the door for Dortmund to catch them.

A Freiburg win on the other hand would see them take third place, whilst Frankfurt would be left on 57 points. If Dortmund were to win, it would leave them level on points with Frankfurt, and the goal difference of both sides is only separated by three, making it likely that Dortmund could just squeeze into the top four.

No matter the outcome, it looks like each scenario could see Borussia Dortmund land themselves into the top four of the Bundesliga, guaranteeing them Champions League football next year, which would be a remarkable improvement considering where Nuri Sahin left them at earlier on in the season.

In the last 13 matches, only Bayern have won more points than BVB. Niko Kovač, our savior. pic.twitter.com/lAHANoUjMA

— Cbobicus 🐝 (@CbobReal) May 13, 2025

The Top Six Race

There isn't only a race for the Champions League in the Bundesliga, there are also several clubs in the mix for the Europa League and the Conference League.

With Borussia Dortmund on 54 points, Mainz in sixth place could jump ahead of Dortmund if they were to lose. Mainz however face second place Leverkusen, which will be a tough test. Mainz currently sit in the Conference League place, but with Leverkusen having nothing to play for, a win for Mainz and a loss for Dortmund could see them jump into the Europa League. But with Dortmund facing Holstein Kiel, a loss for them seems unlikely.

Who Could Catch Mainz?

Regardless of Dortmund's result, Mainz must ensure they still win their game or at least get a draw, with teams behind them looking to capitalise and snatch the Conference League spot.

Level on points but with inferior goal difference is RB Leipzig, who have also had an underwhelming season. They could still qualify for Europa League if they are able to win whilst Mainz and Dortmund both lose, which does seem unlikely.

🚨🇩🇪 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 | RB Leipzig will NOT play Champions League football next season. 🇪🇺❌

It's mathematically impossible for them. pic.twitter.com/HRhcIgKjBl

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) May 11, 2025

Although, Mainz could likely lose to Leverkusen, leaving Leizpig a big chance of snatching away their Conference League spot.

Leipzig face ninth place Stuttgart, who have nothing to play for, so their fixture is of course far more favourable compared to Mainz. Even a draw would be enough for Leipzig as long as Mainz lose, which could salvage something from a somewhat subpar season in the Bundesliga.

On the off chance that both Mainz and Leipzig lose, Werder Bremer have the most minscule chance of qualification. They aren't mathematically ruled out of Conference League football, only having a three point gap to Mainz and Leipzig, but there goal difference is considerably worse than the two ahead of them, and would need a monumental goal swing in their favour in both fixtures to even stand a slight chance of qualifying.

It looks more likely to be Leipzig or Mainz to qualify for the sixth spot, and Mainz will need to pull of a strong result at home to Leverkusen to fend off Leipzig from snatching their spot.

How Will The Table End Up?

With the fate of the top two sealed, the main battle after that is about who will get the final Champions League spots, as well as the Europa and Conference League.

With third and fourth place Freiburg and Frankfurt facing each other, at least one team is guaranteed to drop points in that fixture. This of course opens the door for Borussia Dortmund to walk through and snatch a Champions League spot.

Freiburg do have the home advantage, but they are up against a strong side in Frankfurt, who have players such as Hugo Ekitike who could make the difference. The work of Freiburg has been underrated this season, with manager Julian Schuster taking the side from a tenth place finish to a top five finish this time round. It would be a huge shame for them to drop out of the Champions League on the final day, but with them facing Frankfurt and Dortmund facing an already relegated side, the odds are stacked up against the Freiburg team.

For Dortmund, they look likely to get into the Champions League, whilst Freiburg could be likely to drop into the Europa League spot.

Elsewhere, Leipzig and Mainz will battle it out for the Conference League spot. Mainz face tougher opposition in Bayer Leverkusen, but Leverkusen have nothing to play for which could play into the hands of Mainz.

If Mainz were to lose, it will be a struggle to get that Conference League spot. With them and RB Leipzig level on points, just a draw for Leipzig would be enough for them to leap in front of Mainz and take that Conference League spot.

A loss for Mainz is likely, whereas Leipzig face ninth place Stuttgart who have nothing to play for, which could make it easier for Leipzig.

Whatever happens of the final day, you can guarantee there will be chaos, with constant mayhem with dramatic twists and turns during the games. Fans will go through all emotions throughout, but for neutrals it is going to be a great final day to tune in and watch.