Bundesliga 2 promotion race: The run-in
Schalke have been promoted at the first time of asking - but who from Werder Bremen, Hamburg, Darmstadt and St. Pauli will join them in the Bundesliga next season?
Schalke (promoted)
Current position: 1st (automatic promotion as champions)
Games played: 33
Points: 62
Goal difference: +27
Remaining fixtures: Nuremberg (a)
Schalke relinquished top spot in defeat to Bremen on Matchday 31, but leapfrogged Werder the following week as Simon Terodde hit a 91st-minute winner against Sandhausen. He then grabbed a brace in a come-from-behind win against St. Pauli to guarantee a top-two finish. They'll play for the title in Nuremberg on the final day.
Key man: Simon Terodde
Bundesliga 2 goal merchant Terodde has rediscovered his best at just the right time. The German second tier's all-time leading marksman has 10 goals in his last six, and a division-best 29 for the season.
Watch: Simon Terodde - a seasoned Bundesliga 2 goalscorer
Werder Bremen (automatic promotion as runners-up)
Current position: 2nd
Games played: 33
Points: 60
Goal difference: +20
Remaining fixtures: Jahn Regensburg (h)
Bremen got the better of Schalke on Matchday 31, only to lose to Holstein Kiel the following week, but have automatic promotion in their own hands after beating Erzgebirge Aue on the penultimate weekend. As long as they avoid defeat to Regensburg on the final day, they will be promoted regardless of results elsewhere.
Key man: Marvin Ducksch
The former Borussia Dortmund forward has scored 12 of his 19 Bundesliga 2 goals for Bremen since the turn of the year. He also scored once for Hannover before making the late summer switch.
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Current position: 3rd (a place in the play-offs vs. 16th in the Bundesliga)
Games played: 33
Points: 57
Goal difference: +31
Remaining fixtures: Hansa Rostock (a)
Hamburg are motoring along nicely down the back straight, buoyed by a four-match winning run. The Dinos have a favourable goal difference, but still need to win in Rostock and hope Bremen lose to Regensburg to go up automatically. If Bremen win, HSV will be in the play-offs as long as they match or better Darmstadt's result. A draw will only be enough for third, if Darmstadt don't win.
Key man: Robert Glatzel
Glatzel scored a couple of useful goals in the context of Mainz's ultimately successful survival bid in the 2020/21 Bundesliga. He has a career-best 21 single-season goals to show for his efforts this term, including five in HSV's last five games.
Watch: Robert Glatzel fired HSV to a big win over Darmstadt
Current position: 4th
Games played: 33
Points: 57
Goal difference: +22
Remaining fixtures: Paderborn (a)
Darmstadt are level on points with Hamburg after slipping to defeat against Fortuna Düsseldorf on the penultimate weekend. If they better HSV's result on Matchday 34, they'll go into the play-offs. The Lilies could also go up automatically, if they win, HSV don't and Bremen lose.
Key man: Phillip Tietz
Philipp Tietz has only found the net three times since Matchday 16, but is still Darmstadt's 15-goal top scorer.
Current position: 5th
Games played: 33
Points: 54
Goal difference: +13
Remaining fixtures: Fortuna Düsseldorf (h)
Pauli were top at halfway, but their best form has evaded them when they needed it most. Winless in six, they're left needing a BIG win against Düsseldorf and favours from Rostock and Paderborn to have any chance of climbing back up to third.
Key man: Daniel-Kofi Kyerah
Daniel-Kofi Kyerah's added seven goals to his season tally across Pauli's last 11 league games. In the absence of injured top scorer Guido Burgstaller, he'll need to deliver another big performance at home to Düsseldorf.
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