We have known since virtually before a ball was kicked that the Bundesliga’s leading protagonists were playing for second place behind one team this season.
Indeed, but for what I still consider an appalling decision a fortnight ago, that team would be in the Champions League Final by now.
Yet while the Bavarian powerhouses are runaway German champions, the most intriguing SBOTOP Bundesliga 2026 betting odds can be found at the foot of the table.
That’s because three sides sit level on points going into the final weekend of the season: Wolfsburg, Heidenheim and St Pauli – and two of them will meet each other next Saturday!
Two will go down automatically, while the team which finishes in 16th place, currently Wolfsburg, will have a stay of execution and face a play-off match.
A late goal from Abdoulie Ceesay wasn’t enough for St Pauli to avoid a 2-1 defeat at Leipzig on Saturday which means anything other than victory at home to Wolfsburg will see them lose their top flight status.
Meanwhile, Heidenheim will entertain a Mainz side with nothing to play for.
Their 3-1 victory at Cologne on Sunday, thanks to a Jan Schöppner brace, delivered what, until recently, had been rare Bundesliga 2026 highlights for Frank Schmidt’s side.
This is the team that successfully navigated a play-off win against Elversberg at the end of last season but, even a play-off spot seemed unlikely this time around and, at one point, they were nine points away from outright safety.
Now, after collecting seven points from the last nine available and losing just once in their last seven games, they’re in with a chance of pulling off a great escape.
Wolfsburg, arguably, are in the box seat and they showed spirit to only lose 1-0 at home to champions Bayern Munich on Saturday.
For a club which was Bundesliga runners-up as recently as 2015, and has not finished outside the top 12 in eight years, including an eighth place finish less than three years ago, the plight of the ‘Wolves’ – ever present in the German top flight for almost 30 years – has shocked many this term.
Whatever you do, don’t take your eyes off the Bundesliga next Saturday!
The only other real battle of note involves the race for the fourth and final guaranteed Champions League spot next term.
With one game remaining, Stuttgart are in the box seat but only on goal difference from Hoffenheim.
The latter went into their home match against Werder Bremen sitting level on goal difference with Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen.
And as they edged past 10-man Werder Bremen to keep their top-four hopes alive going into the final day of the season, Bazoumana Touré was the main man.
Bremen gave themselves a mountain to climb inside just five minutes when Yukinari Sugawara caught Touré with a reckless challenge on the calf.
After a VAR review, referee Sören Storks showed Sugawara a straight red card – the earliest sending-off in Bremen’s Bundesliga history.
Despite their numerical advantage, Hoffenheim found it difficult to break down a well-organised Bremen defence in the opening exchanges.
The breakthrough and, ultimately, decisive moment arrived in the 26th minute when the unmarked Touré swept the ball into the far corner with his left foot.
That proved to be the only goal of the contest.
Elsewhere, if the decision to sell most of their leading players last summer, and then wonder why new boss Erik ten Hag was less than impressed, was an own goal by Bayer Leverkusen, the decision to then part company with the Dutchman a few games into the season was just as foolhardy.
The upshot is that Leverkusen have got exactly what they deserve this term and will probably not be in the Champions League next season.
Despite a goal after just 40 seconds from Aleix Garcia, Stuttgart’s response against them was swift and emphatic.
Within four minutes, a long ball from Alexander Nübel set the Swabians in motion and a slick one-two between Ermedin Demirović and Nikolas Nartey carved open the Leverkusen defence, resulting in Demirović drilling home the equaliser beyond Mark Flekken.
The scoreline looked like remaining level until a staggering seven minutes of first half stoppage time had been played and the home side were awarded a spot-kick after Demirović went down in the box.
Maximilian Mittelstädt coolly chipped a ‘panenka’ down the middle, sending Flekken the wrong way and the hosts were ahead.
The boost of a lead became the points just before the hour mark.
Nartey dispossessed Patrik Schick on the halfway line, played it to Demirović, who sent Jamie Leweling racing up the right flank. Leweling’s cross was deflected but still found Deniz Undav, who had made a perfectly timed run to the back post.
The Stuttgart captain then slotted home past Flekken from close range to make it 3-1 with his 19th Bundesliga goal of the season.
It all goes to the wire next Saturday.
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