2. Bundesliga
The battle for promotion from Bundesliga 2 is as captivating as ever, with only Hamburg assured of going up heading into the final day of the season. Find out who's making a late push for a place in the Bundesliga next year...
Hamburg
Position: 1st (automatic promotion)
Points: 59 (33 games)
Goals: 76-41 (+35)
Last 5 results:
Final match:
Now in their seventh year in the second tier, Hamburg finally sealed a return to the top tier with a 6-1 victory over Ulm on Matychday 33. The only question left to answer is whether they go up as champions or runners-up.
Cologne
Position: 2nd (automatic promotion)
Points: 58 (33 games)
Goals: 49-38 (+11)
Last 5 results:
Final match:
After dropped points to Jahn Regensburg and Hannover cost Gerhard Struber his job with two games to go, the new coach bounce under wily veteran Friedhelm Funkel had the desired effect as they beat Nuremberg on the penultimate weekend. The Billy Goats will join HSV back in the big time with a point from their final game of the season, at home to Funkel's former side Kaiserslautern.
Elversberg
Position: 3rd (two-legged play-off vs. 16th in the Bundesliga)
Points: 55 (33 games)
Goals: 62-36 (+26)
Last 5 results:
Final match:
Given how Elversberg have adapted to life in Bundesliga 2, it is easy to forget this is just their second season at this level. If they are to achieve an unlikely promotion, the showings of 18-goal attacking star Fisnik Asllani and the division's second-meanest defence will be key ahead of a final-day showdown at Schalke, where third-place is theirs to lose and even second (and automatic promotion) is still up for grabs given their superior goal difference over Cologne.
Paderborn
Position: 4th
Points: 55 (33 games)
Goals: 56-43 (+13)
Last 5 results:
Final match:
It took until Matchday 9 for Paderborn to lose their first game of the season, and with no further losses forthcoming by the end of Matchday 14, their position at the top of the table was as inevitable as it was deserved. Lukas Kwasniok's side are outside the top three on goal difference alone going into the final day at Karlsruhe. They have to better Elversberg's result to snatch third, while automatic promotion is also still very much a possibility.
Fortuna Düsseldorf
Position: 5th
Points: 53 (33 games)
Goals: 55-48 (+7)
Last 5 results:
Final match:
Having missed out on going up last season on penalties in the play-off, Düsseldorf have figured in the promotion discussion from the off thanks to a solid start to the season. Daniel Thioune's outfit even occupied top spot for seven matchdays, but four losses in six games in the autumn saw them drop off the pace. A third-place finish and another crack at the play-off will require help from elsewhere on the final day.
Kaiserslautern
Position: 6th
Points: 53 (33 games)
Goals: 56-51 (+5)
Last 5 results:
Not too long ago, Kaiserslautern were fighting for their lives in the third division. Fast forward four years, though, and they are still in with a chance of ending their 14-year hiatus from Germany's elite. They go into the final day two points back from third-place, needing a win over automatic promotion hopefuls Cologne and results to go their way elsewhere.