Bundesliga 2: The promotion race?
There are only 2 games remaining in the 2. Bundesliga season for the promotion hopefuls. League leaders Arminia Bielefeld are set to secure promotion meaning 1 of 3 teams will secure the second automatic place, 1 of them getting the play off place and the other team having to settle for another season in the second tier of German football. The three teams battling for promotion are Stuttgart, Hamburger SV and Heidenheim
Stuttgart: Nϋrnberg (A), Darmstadt 98 (H)
A name synonymous with German football. Stuttgart are looking to return to the Bundesliga. Sitting second in the league, they will have their sights set on securing 2nd place at the very least. Moreover, they will want to avoid being in the play offs, which they were in last year, however on that occasion because they finished 16th in the Bundesliga meaning they had to play last year’s 3rd place 2. Bundesliga team Union Berlin. They lost out to the Berlin side and this led to them being relegated to the second tier. Hamburg are in third, 1 point behind and Heidenheim are in 4th place and are 3 points behind Stuttgart. Although, not in attendance now due to the ban of spectators because of the global pandemic, the players will want to make their large following happy. They have had an average attendance this season of over 39,000 spectators which means they have the highest average attendance in the league.
Hamburger SV: Heidenheim (A), Sandhausen (H)
Another huge name in German football. They will want to return to the Bundesliga and end their 2 year stay in the second tier. They are currently in third place and that means if they remain there, they will face a play-off against the third from bottom team of the Bundesliga. Furthermore, as only 5 teams have won the play off against a Bundesliga side, they will want to secure promotion automatically. They are another well supported side having the second highest average attendance in the league with over 33,000 fans this season. They have scored the most amount of goals in the league this season with 60 league goals coming in their 32 games. They currently sit in third place and in the only play off place in the division.
Heidenheim: Hamburger SV (H), Arminia Bielefeld (A)
Maybe the lesser know of the three clubs, Heidenheim are in 4th place, but still have an opportunity at achieving automatic promotion or finishing third to get the play off spot. They may not be the biggest scorers, as they only the tenth highest scorers in the lead, but they do have the second-best defensive record with only the league leaders with a better defensive record. On paper, they have the most difficult fixtures out of the three, but at this stage of the season nothing can be taken for granted. Moreover, there home game against Hamburger SV will represent a massive opportunity to overtake their rival and go into the play off place. However, a loss and a win for Stuttgart would see their attempt at getting promotion or the play off space will be over.
