Forget the Premier League: THIS is the best relegation battle in Europe

St Pauli fans are preparing for a nervy final day

It’s that time of the year when everything from title races to relegation battles are being settled across Europe.

Plenty of trophies have already been handed out, not least Barcelona, who saw off Real Madrid to claim their second consecutive La Liga title and in Italy, where Inter Milan eased to the Scudetto with three games remaining earlier this month.

Bundesliga relegation battle will go to the wire

It was business as usual at the top of the Bundesliga, as Bayern Munich swept to their 35th league title last month and head into next weekend’s final match of the season with a 16-point lead on runners-up Borussia Dortmund.

But that doesn’t mean the final day of the season will be a washout, as all eyes will be on the other end of the table, where three teams will be fighting for their lives.

Mohamed Amoura of VfL Wolfsburg seen during the Bundesliga match between RB Leipzig and VfL Wolfsburg at Red Bull Arena. Final score RB Leipzig 2 : 2 VfL Wolfsburg. — Wolfsburg find themselves battling to avoid the automatic relegation spots (Image credit: Grzegorz Wajda/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Going into this weekend’s 34th and final set of fixtures, Wolfsburg, Heidenheim and St Pauli are all locked on 26 points at the foot of the table.

To remind you of the format in Germany, the bottom two sides will be relegated, with the third-bottom finisher dropping into a two-legged promotion/relegation playoff against the third-place finishers in Bundesliga 2.

As things stand, Heidenheim and St Pauli will start the final day in the bottom two, with Wolfsburg out of the automatic relegation spots on goal difference.

And as if that set-up wasn’t mouthwatering enough, the final day fixtures see St Pauli host Wolfsburg in a blockbuster six-pointer, while Heidenheim are at home to midtable Mainz.

In terms of goal difference, the trio can again barely be separated, as Wolfsburg sit on -26, with both Heidenheim and St Pauli on -29.

Frank Schmidt, Head Coach of 1.FC Heidenheim, looks on prior to the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 and VfB Stuttgart at Voith-Arena on November 05, 2023 in Heidenheim, Germany. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images) — Heidenheim boss Frank Schmidt knows his side need a win (Image credit: Getty Images)

The next tie-breaker in the Bundesliga is goals scored, where Wolfsburg have netted 42 times, which is one more than Heidenheim. St Pauli trail on 28 here. Should another tie-breaker be required, it will then go to head-to-head results.

With only one defeat in their past five matches, Heidenheim go into this final weekend decider in the best form of the three teams at the bottom, but know that even a win against Mainz may not be enough to keep them up, should Wolfsburg see off St Pauli.

This final slate of fixtures kick off at 2.30pm BST on Saturday and promises to be one of the most nerve-shredding climaxes in European football this season.

TOPICS

For more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.