Things are tight in the bottom of the Bundesliga table and there is no clear relegation candidate in sight. There are two direct duels at the end of the second half of the season.
The focus is particularly on the game between 1. FSV Mainz 05 and 1. FC Heidenheim on Tuesday (from 8:30 p.m. in the live ticker and in the audio live stream). The bottom of the table awaits the second to last.
Mainz against Heidenheim: More of a basement duel is not possible
With a home win, Mainz could draw level with Heidenheim on points. Both teams would then have twelve points on their account. FC St. Pauli also has the same number in relegation place 16, the catch-up game against RB Leipzig is still pending. The Hamburg team travel to VfL Wolfsburg on Wednesday (6.30 p.m.). They, in turn, have just 15 points in 14th place, one more than FC Augsburg in 15th place.
Cologne in eleventh place, but in free fall
The relegation candidates also include the two promoted teams – Hamburger SV is 13th with 16 points, 1. FC Köln is in eleventh place with 17 points, but has been waiting for a win since the beginning of November and has to play against FC Bayern Munich at the end of the second half of the season – which doesn’t bode well these days. Werder Bremen (also 17 points) is twelfth, but still has a catch-up game against Hoffenheim.
| Place | team | games | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
11 | 1. FC Cologne | 16 | 17 |
12 | Werder Bremen | 15 | 17 |
13 | Hamburger SV | 16 | 16 |
14 | VfL Wolfsburg | 16 | 15 |
15 | FC Augsburg | 16 | 14 |
16 | FC St Pauli | 15 | 12 |
17 | 1. FC Heidenheim | 16 | 12 |
18 | 1. FSV Mainz 05 | 16 | 9 |
Coach changes in Augsburg, Wolfsburg and Mainz
Three of the seven teams have already changed coaches. VfL Wolfsburg had moderate success with this. There have been two recent defeats under Daniel Bauer – including a dismal 8-1 defeat against FC Bayern. “This bitter defeat has to get out of our minds”said the 43-year-old with a view to the groundbreaking game against FC St. Pauli.
And for FC Augsburg and its new coach Manuel Baum there was a massive 0-4 defeat at Borussia Mönchengladbach at the weekend. “A brutal result. In one situation or another we could have gotten one more”said Baum.
Only in Mainz is things looking up, albeit slowly. Under Urs Fischer, the 05ers have at least been unbeaten for three games, and the 2-2 draw with Bayern was definitely worth noting. And in the recent 2-2 draw at Union Berlin, more was possible. “Heads up, take your balls in your hands and then let’s get started”said offensive player Nadiem Amiri. The belief in staying in the league is unbroken: “We will do it, 100 percent. I’m sure of it. We’re too good for it.”
Merlin Polzin seems to be just as firmly in the saddle at Hamburger SV as Alexander Blessin at FC St. Pauli and Frank Schmidt in Heidenheim – but who knows. In Cologne, however, there are rumblings and criticism of Lukas Kwasniok is growing. The FC missed a kind of liberation in the 2-2 draw against Heidenheim at the weekend.
Cellar duels too Start of the second half of the season
The second half of the season promises a lot of excitement in the table cellar, because there is no clear candidate for relegation. Hamburg and Cologne are at risk as promoted teams per se, and for St. Pauli and Heidenheim it’s probably just about staying in the league. The coaching changes in Augsburg and Wolfsburg have had little effect, and Urs Fischer still has to prove himself in Mainz.
By the way, things will continue lively with direct duels this weekend. At the start of the second half of the season on matchday 18, 1. FC Köln awaits FSV Mainz 05, and VfL Wolfsburg has to play against 1. FC Heidenheim.