The Bundesliga - Who is going down?

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Whilst FC Bayern München look all but certain to win a fourth successive Bundesliga title, the race to avoid relegation is certainly heating up after this weekend’s results.

There are two spots up for grabs and one of those positions is almost certain to be filled by Hannover 96. Despite a gritty 2-2 draw on Friday night away to UEFA Champions League contenders Hertha BSC, Hannover are already on their third manager of the campaign and 12 points adrift of safety. A drop into 2.Bundesliga looks on the cards for Die Roten.

The second relegation position is incredibly tight with only a few points separating a few clubs. As I work on the Bundesliga products in my full-time role, I thought I would offer my opinions on the clubs fighting to stay in Germany’s top-flight.

Eintracht Frankfurt (17^th place – 27 points)

2015/2016 has been an incredibly disappointing season for Eintracht Frankfurt. It looked like they could be a surprise package this campaign, especially after a strong start which included a 6-2 thrashing of 1. FC Köln on Matchday 4.  That game was when the inspirational ‘Football God,’ Alexander Meier scored a hat-trick on his return from a knee injury.

Since then though, they have plummeted down the table and dropped into the second automatic relegation position just before the last international break. Meier is currently injured and they are desperate for him to return before the season’s end.

Makoto Hasebe has struggled for Eintracht Frankfurt

Although Marc Stendera is a bright hope for the future, goals have dried up in Meier’s absence. Haris Seferovic has disappointed in attack and others like Makoto Hasebe (pictured) have struggled to find consistent form. Errors at the back have seen the club slip into precarious danger.

Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to relegation rivals TSG 1899 Hoffenheim was another damaging blow for the club. New manager Niko Kovac has not the impact everyone was hoping for after Armin Veh was relieved of his duties at the start of March.

With fixtures in the run-in including Borussia Dortmund and Bayer 04 Leverkusen, the future is looking bleak for Frankfurt.

SV Werder Bremen (16^th place – 28 points)

When SV Werder Bremen achieved two landslide victories at the start of March against Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Hannover 96, scoring eight goals in the process, it looked like Viktor Skrypnyk’s outfit were moving in the right direction.

One point from four games since and Bremen are back in trouble. Despite leading Augsburg on Saturday, a 2-1 defeat could be very costly. It was another late setback for Die Werderaner. A week earlier, they were 15 minutes away from becoming the first team to win in Dortmund this season, but lost 3-2 in dramatic circumstances. Psychologically, events in the last two weeks have really hurt the squad.

Having conceded 59 goals, the joint-highest in the league, it isn’t very surprising to see Werder Bremen in this position but in Bundesliga history, they’ve been in the top-flight in all but one season. It would be a real shock to see this once former great side slip down to 2.Bundesliga. Their final day fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt is already looking like a relegation showdown.

FC Augsburg (15^th place – 30 points)

Having finished a surprising fifth last campaign – their best ever in the Bundesliga, it was always going to be difficult for FC Augsburg to repeat those efforts. For them to be involved in a relegation scramble though has been a bit of a shock for the Bavarians.

After a shocking start which had them propping up the table in mid-November, Augsburg’s form improved just before the winter break. Wins over FC Schalke 04, VfB Stuttgart and Hamburger SV lifted Markus Weinzierl’s men into mid-table.

Their form in the second half of the season has been very poor though. Before this weekend’s games, they’d won just once since January and that was away to Hannover 96. On Saturday though, they recorded a priceless 2-1 away victory over SV Werder Bremen with Jeong Ho-Hong scoring an 87^th minute winner. The result dragged Augsburg out of the relegation play-off position.

Europa League commitments are not a distraction anymore and they have enough quality to get out of danger. Home matches against Stuttgart, Köln and Hamburg are essential though in the run-in. They must target maximum points. Do that and Weinzierl’s side should be safe for another season.

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (14^th place – 31 points)

When Huub Stevens left his position as TSG 1899 Hoffenheim manager in February due to health reasons, things looked very bad for the club. Seven points adrift of safety and with just two wins all term in the league, Hoffenheim were in major danger of being cut adrift from the rest of the division.

In came the youngest coach in the Bundesliga in Julian Nagelsmann at just 28-years old. Part of the Hoffenheim coaching setup since 2011 in the youth teams, Nagelsmann was already going to replace Stevens for the start of the 2016/2017 season, but his impact has been terrific.

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim have put themselves in a strong position

Five wins from nine games and a 55% win ratio have propelled Hoffenheim to the brink of safety. Kevin Volland (pictured) has played his integral part as would be expected, but he has been backed up by Mark Uth, who has scored some crucial goals off the bench in recent Matchdays and Andrej Kramaric – a successful loan signing from surprise Premier League leaders Leicester City.

Saturday’s 2-0 win away to Eintracht Frankfurt has propelled Hoffenheim to 14^th spot. They are not safe yet, but the in-form side of the Bundesliga strugglers. If he completes the task, Nagelsmann’s feat in keeping them up shouldn’t be overlooked at the end of the season.

SV Darmstadt 98 (13^th place – 32 points)

Many pundits and fans had written SV Darmstadt 98 off before a ball had been kicked this season. I must admit, even myself tipped them for an immediate return to 2.Bundesliga. I didn’t see their squad being strong enough to survive.

Home form has been poor with just two wins all season on their own patch. Darmstadt’s away success though has been mightily impressive, including wins at relegation rivals Augsburg, Eintracht Frankfurt and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. On Saturday, they took a giant stride towards survival with a 2-1 away win at Hamburger SV. Darmstadt also has a natural goalscorer in Sandro Wagner.

Rejected by Hertha BSC, Wagner has flourished in his new surroundings with 13 goals to his tally this season. They also have the top-scoring defender in the Bundesliga this season in Aytac Sulu. His goal at Hamburg yesterday took his total to six.

Five points clear of danger is a nice buffer to have with five games to play. Two more wins should be enough to clinch another season at this level which would be an incredible achievement.

With five matchdays to go, there is still plenty to play for in the Bundesliga in 2015/2016. The relegation fight is bound to have twists and turns and if this weekend had anything to go by, this race is going down to the wire.