Bundesliga 2021/22 European battle: the run-in

Disregarding the top two Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, who are involved in an intriguing title tussle and are already all but mathematically certain of European football next season, that leaves nine other clubs still in the hunt for five more European berths.

Should Leipzig, Freiburg or Union Berlin win the DFB Cup and finish inside the top six, seventh place would earn a place in the Europa Conference League next season; if Bundesliga 2 side Hamburg triumph in Berlin on 21 May, sixth will secure Europa Conference league football instead, with the top four going into the UEFA Champions League group stage and fifth heading into the Europa League, together with the cup winners.

bundesliga.com takes a look at the runners and the riders entering into the defining weeks of the 2021/22 season...

Bayer Leverkusen

Current position: 3rd

Points: 48

Goal difference: +25

Remaining fixtures: Hertha Berlin (h), Bochum (a), Leipzig (h), Fürth (a), Frankfurt (h), Hoffenheim (a), Freiburg (h)

Leverkusen do still have a mathematical shot at the title, trailing Bayern by 15 points with seven games to go, but realistically their target is a top-four finish and, with that in mind, they will be more focused on what is happening just over their shoulders. Thanks to some Paulinho heroics in Wolfsburg, Gerardo Seoane's men hold a three-point advantage over fifth-placed Freiburg - the team they face on the final day of the season - and they have head-to-head clashes with three other sides still in the hunt for Europe, in the shape of Leipzig, Frankfurt and Hoffenheim.

The first two of those are both still in the hunt for the Europa League title, though, and that could put Leverkusen at a slight advantage, particularly for the visit of Die Roten Bullen. They will also hope to have Czech hot-shot Patrik Schick back for that game and the remainder of the run-in after he missed the last four matches, although he is not the only solid source of strikes. Moussa Diaby is enjoying his best season ever and while Amine Adli, Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz will miss the rest of the season due to injury, Die Werkself should have enough craft and cunning to clinch a return to the Champions League next season.

Key player: Patrik Schick

His 20 goals in 20 appearances have fuelled Leverkusen's push for a top-four finish and if he can continue his goal-per-game ratio once he returns, Leverkusen can start to hear that Champions League anthem already.

RB Leipzig

Current position: 4th

Points: 45

Goal difference: +27

Remaining fixtures: Dortmund (a), Hoffenheim (h), Leverkusen (a), Union Berlin (a), Gladbach (a), Augsburg (h), Bielefeld (a)

Of the teams pursuing a top-four finish, Leipzig have arguably the toughest schedule, although they have little reason to be afraid of that. Domenico Tedesco's team are the best in the Bundesliga in 2022 with 23 points in 10 games, scoring 27 goals and conceding just eight. If they can keep up that rate, they will be home and dry with games to spare, though their toughest challenges are just around the corner.

After travelling to Dortmund, they host Hoffenheim and then face a tricky trip to Leverkusen. Those form the tasty filling of a sandwich of home and away Europa League quarter-final fixtures with Atalanta, the team who eliminated Leverkusen in the last round. That European distraction could cause some tired legs, but as long as Angelino can keep on delivering the crosses and Christopher Nkunku continues his remarkable form, a top-four finish is still Leipzig's to lose.

Key player: Christopher Nkunku

The French fantasist is a difference maker, having supplied 15 goals and nine assists already this season. However, his record gets even better when you focus purely on the games since Tedesco took charge, with nine of those goals and five of the assists coming from a freer attacking role afforded to him by his new coach.

Freiburg

Current position: 5th

Points: 45

Goal difference: +14

Remaining fixtures: Bayern (h), Frankfurt (a), Bochum (h), Gladbach (h), Hoffenheim (a), Union Berlin (h), Leverkusen (a)

Together with Mainz, Freiburg are the only other club inside the top 11 still to play Bayern in the run-in, and perhaps they will be pleased to see the back of the record champions already on Matchday 28 - not that things get much easier for them after then. The Black Forest club have built their season on a defensive resolve which has seen them become one of the hardest teams to beat. In fact, Bayern are the only club to have lost fewer (5) than Freiburg's six defeats this season, while only the Bavarians have conceded fewer (28) than Freiburg's 29.

When one of the stars of your team is a defender, as is Freiburg's case with recently capped Germany international Nico Schlotterbeck, even a run-in that includes five direct rivals for European qualification will strike no fear in Christian Streich's men. If their Europa-Park Stadion home is to welcome European visitors for the first time next season, the outcome of their four remaining fixtures there this term will play a big part. Bayern, Bochum, Gladbach and Union are the only Bundesliga clubs yet to visit Freiburg's plush new home, and if they can all be sent packing without any points, a European anthem of some kind will likely have to be fed into the stadium's PA system over the summer.

Key player: Nico Schlotterbeck

The embodiment of the safety-first approach which has propped up Freiburg's season so well, Schlotterbeck has not just emerged as one of the Baden-Württemberg club's leading lights this year, he has also picked up his first cap for Germany and shown a maturity which goes beyond his 22 years. It is safe to say Schlotterbeck is already a leader on the field, and set to lead Freiburg into Europe.

Hoffenheim

Current position: 6th

Points: 44

Goal difference: +9

Remaining fixtures: Bochum (h), Leipzig (a), Fürth (h), Frankfurt (a), Freiburg (h), Leverkusen (h), Gladbach (a)

Hoffenheim's hunt for a return to Europe has hit a bit of a snag of late, with a 1-1 draw with Bayern followed by a 3-0 defeat by Hertha Berlin. As a result, Sebastian Hoeneß' men are currently sixth, holding onto the last guaranteed berth in Europe, with a four-point cushion to defend over Cologne, and just a point adrift of fourth-placed Leipzig - a team they face away from home on Matchday 29 in a veritable six-pointer.

Indeed, Hoffenheim have arguably one of the most difficult run-ins of all of the teams in the top 11, facing five of the teams sitting within seven points of them heading into the final stretch of the season. On the other hand, this means their destiny is well and truly within their own hands, with wins over their direct rivals carrying added weight in what could come down to a photo finish on the line, with Hoffenheim in Gladbach on the final day of the season.

Key player: Andrej Kramaric

While it is true that Kramaric has not scored with his usual regularity this season, he has turned his talents to providing assists (seven) and, since extending his contract, he has become a figure of fan identity with the club, and one who knows better than any what it would mean to qualify for Europe once again.

Cologne

Current position: 7th

Points: 40

Goal difference: -2

Remaining fixtures: Union Berlin (a), Mainz (h), Gladbach (a), Bielefeld (h), Augsburg (a), Wolfsburg (h), Stuttgart (a)

With Anthony Modeste in scintillating form, there is no wonder Cologne's hat - but most certainly not Steffen Baumgart's - has been tossed into the ring for a place in Europe next season. Modeste knows what happens when you play with Baumgart's trademark flat cap, but the Cologne coach would no doubt be happy to dispose of it in return for European football next season, and the likelihood of that happening is not so slim.

With games against four teams from the bottom six over the final four weekends, Cologne have what - on paper at least - might appear to be the most manageable fixture list, although league position counts for little when teams are scrapping for their lives with only a few grains of sand left to drop through the hourglass. Nevertheless, with Modeste looking to improve on what is already his second-best Bundesliga season, with 15 goals, and just four points to make up on the top six - assuming seventh does not suffice - the Billy Goats are gruff and ready.

Key player: Anthony Modeste

Only once before has Modeste scored more than 15 in a single Bundesliga season, and that was also the last time Cologne qualified for Europe. Could that be a coincidence? Well, his 25 goals in 2016/17 may be unrepeatable, but he can certainly be expected to increase his current haul and, who knows, celebrate the same outcome.

Eintracht Frankfurt

Current position: 8th

Points: 38

Goal difference: +1

Remaining fixtures: Fürth (h), Freiburg (h), Union Berlin (a), Hoffenheim (h), Leverkusen (a), Gladbach (h), Mainz (a)

It has been a mixed season so far for Frankfurt, who will be hoping that the next streak they embark on will be a positive one, culminating in European qualification. After a difficult start to life under new coach Oliver Glasner, who led Wolfsburg into the Champions League last term, the Eagles took flight from Matchday 11 to Matchday 17 with six wins in seven games. They now face the same seven teams they collected 18 points against in the Hinrunde, knowing the same run of results would assure them a top-six finish.

If they can register an obligatory win at home to bottom-placed Fürth, whom they beat 2-1 away, on Matchday 28, the outlook will look much brighter already, with repeats of 2-0 and 2-1 wins over Freiburg and Union respectively setting them up nicely for the final four games of the season. That might be easier said than done, though, since on either side of those fixtures they face Spanish giants Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Winning that competition would secure Frankfurt Champions League football next term, but they would be wise to keep their focus on domestic matters first and foremost, and use their ongoing European adventures as motivation to get them back there next term.