Bundesliga relegation preview: Who going down?
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are battling for the German Bundesliga title, RB Leipzig and Freiburg are battling for the last Champions League spot, and Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt and Mainz 05 are battling for the last Europa League place, but who is in the race for survival?
Hertha Berlin props up the table but they’re one of six clubs in trouble this season, so Odds To Bet On has taken a look at Betway’s odds on the sides embroiled in a relegation battle.
Hertha Berlin (1/4 to be relegated)
Remaining fixtures: Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich, VfB Stuttgart, FC Koln, Bochum, Wolfsburg
Hertha are in trouble. They are 18th in the Bundesliga for points, 17th for goals conceded and 17th for losses. Die, Alte Dame, haven’t won in their last six games and are four points adrift of safety with half a dozen outings remaining.
Hertha picked up only three points against their next six opponents earlier in the season, however, so they need to exact revenge to stand a chance of staying up.
Schalke 04 (4/11 to be relegated)
Remaining fixtures: Freiburg, Werder Bremen, Mainz 05, Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt, RB Leipzig
Schalke are also in the relegation zone, sitting two points adrift of safety, but they did win in their last league game.
Sadly, Die Königsblauen have a difficult run-in with five top-10 clubs to face which could see them struggle to pick up points. Schalke have only managed three points against the six teams earlier in the season.
VfL Bochum (11/8 to be relegated)
Remaining fixtures: Union Berlin, Wolfsburg, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Monchengladbach, Augsburg, Hertha Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen
Bochum are two points clear of the bottom three with a game in hand and have only lost one of their last four matches, so they could survive. Die Unabsteigbaren’s next four opponents are top-10 clubs,
VfB Stuttgart (13/8 to be relegated)
Remaining fixtures: Augsburg, Borussia Monchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hertha Berlin, Bayer Leverkusen, Mainz 05, Hoffenheim
Stuttgart are clear of the relegation zone but are in the relegation playoffs on goal difference while sitting two points adrift of safety. They’ve managed only one win in their last seven games and are in danger of losing ground on strugglers Bochum who could go five points clear in the table if they win their game in hand.
It is worth noting that Stuttgart picked up nine points against their next seven opponents earlier in the campaign, so they will fancy their chances of getting some results. Whether it can get them out of trouble remains to be seen, however.
Hoffenheim (5/1 to be relegated)
Remaining fixtures: FC Koln, RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt, Wolfsburg, Union Berlin, VfB Stuttgart
Hoffenheim are five points clear of relegation and are coming off the back of three wins and a draw from their last four games to shut down any talk of the drop.
Die Kraichgauer can mathematically still be relegated, however, so another win or two should keep them out of sight. Pellegrino Matarazzo’s men have picked up just four points against the remaining opponents, so they’ll need to be better in the return fixtures.
Augsburg (9/1 to be relegated)
Remaining fixtures: VfB Stuttgart, Eintracht Frankfurt, Union Berlin, Bochum, Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Monchengladbach
Augsburg are also five points clear, but their form has fallen off a cliff. Enrico Maaßen’s men are without a win in their last five games and have the third-worst defensive record in the Bundesliga this season, so they still have a job to do.
Augsburg still have Stuttgart and Bochum to face before the campaign comes to a close, so those games could be pivotal in the race for survival.