Schalke must not lose, Bochum can at least secure the relegation with a win, Stuttgart is saved with a win – the relegation battle is not for the faint of heart.
A defeat would be the death knell for Schalke 04. But speculating on a draw in the relegation battle is out of the question for Thomas Reis.
“We definitely won’t play for one point, we can’t do that,” said the Table 17 coach. before the difficult fateful game on Saturday (3.30 p.m.) at cup winners RB Leipzig.
So the 49-year-old doesn’t want to play too many tactics, only the goalkeeping question remains open until Friday. Reis seems to be leaning towards Ralf Fährmann, who was recently unavailable due to a torn adductor fibre. Fährmann’s representative Alexander Schwolow made a serious mistake in the 2-2 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend.
Such mistakes must not happen in Leipzig, otherwise the Royal Blues will return to the second division after just one Bundesliga year. In order to prevent that, Schalke’s record scorer Klaus Fischer demands absolute commitment from his successors: “They have to run until they throw up.”
VfL Bochum: Fan march into the stadium
With a win in Leipzig, the Royal Blues could possibly keep themselves in the league and at the same time send Ruhr rivals VfL Bochum into the 2nd division.
VfL meets Bayer Leverkusen in front of their home crowd, the Werkself need a win to secure sixth place and qualify for the international stage.
The Bochum appendix wants to do a lot to stay up in the league. At 12:00 p.m. the supporters meet at the town hall bell for a joint march into the stadium.
The team promises to give everything. Captain Anthony Losilla: “We’ve known since the start of the season that we have to fight to the end. And we’re still in the running.”
Support from his Leipzig colleague Marco Rose would still be very convenient for VfL coach Thomas Letsch, but there will be no contact with Rose, whom he knows from the days they spent together at RB Salzburg.
“It makes no sense now to call any colleague,” said the 54-year-old. He assumes that the people of Leipzig “have the ambition to get the best out of it.”
VfB Stuttgart: A victory to the rescue
VfB Stuttgart will definitely be saved if they win their home game against TSG Hoffenheim. The most comfortable position is held by FC Augsburg, who at least no longer have to fear direct relegation.
And the relegation will only become FCA reality if they lose in Mönchengladbach if Stuttgart and Bochum win at the same time.
However: The sporting development has recently been negative, in the last ten games there has only been one win. “We know what’s at stake, but it’s in our hands. “I’m firmly convinced that we can do it,” said Managing Director Stefan Reuter.
