The German Bundesliga has reached the home stretch and the top eight teams have lucrative European spots to play for. The top two - FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have first and second position tied up and will now be focused on a title showdown. Below them the picture is murkier, with the next six teams all capable of sealing a spot in Europe for the following season.
Third and fourth positions will grant a shot at the UEFA Champions League. Fifth and sixth spots warrant entry into the Europa Cup. Hertha Berlin, FC Schalke 04, Borussia Monchengladbach, FSV Mainz 05, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Vfl Wolfsburg all vie for these standings.
The strongest placed team is Hertha Berlin. Their latest win, a 2-1 home victory against Ingolstadt at the weekend, gave them their fourth win in six games and strengthens their grip on the third Champions League spot. With forty-eight points, they are four points clear of their closest challenger. Hertha's top goalscorer, Salomon Kalou says everyone at the club is "motivated to succeed". The former Chelsea forward has thirteen league goals so far this season and club manager Pal Dardai will hope the Ivorian's form in front of goal will fire them into Europe's elite club competition.
FC Schalke and Borussia Monchengladbach switched positions when the two sides met on Friday, with Schalke taking all three points in a 2-1 win. Monchengladbach midfielder Granit Xhaka says the club "shot (themselves) in the foot" by not taking their chances in front of goal. The foals have now lost two of their last three games and are in danger of slipping further behind when they host third placed Hertha for a difficult contest in their next game. Schalke are on the rise with three wins in four games. Gladbach's away form is costing them points and they are now without a win in seven matches away from Borussia-Park.
FSV Mainz are in patchy form at the moment with two wins, two defeats and two draws from their last six games. Other teams are starting to climb above them. Bayer Leverkusen have just been knocked out of the Champions League, but they will feel their chances of returning to the competition next season are good. They managed a tough away win on Sunday against Stuttgart, to see them climb above Mainz into fifth. In-form striker Javier Hernandez is firing Leverkusen onwards this season with fourteen league goals so far this term.
Vfl Wolfsburg are proving inconsistent at just the wrong time. A 1-1 home draw in their last game against SV Darmstadt 98 frustrated star-player Andre Schurrle who lamented, declaring "everyone's disappointed". With two wins, two losses and two draws from their last six league games, Wolfsburg need to string some wins together. They are currently outsiders for European qualification sitting in eighth position. A win in their next game against Bayer Leverkusen is crucial if they are to close ground and overtake their rivals.
The competition for the third and fourth Champions League spots will be fierce. Hertha Berlin and Schalke seem to be best-placed and have hit good form at just the right time. Berlin and Gladbach are the bookies favourites to complete the top four. The final run-in will be highly competitive and the teams will need to win in matches against the teams around them. Only six points separate fourth and eighth positions. There are sure to be some twists and turns before the season is out.