Which teams could be promoted to the Bundesliga?

The race for promotion to the Bundesliga is tighter than ever.

Heading into the final matchday, five teams still have a theoretical chance of going up. Only Hamburger SV are already guaranteed promotion. 

One direct promotion spot remains, along with a potential route via the promotion play-off against the 16th-placed Bundesliga side.

Sports News Blitz writer Annika Böttcher breaks down the five contenders and what could lie ahead on a thrilling final day.

FC Köln

Cologne are in pole position to secure the final direct promotion spot. 

With 58 points, they hold a three-point lead over third-placed Elversberg heading into the final matchday. 

A draw against fifth-placed Kaiserslautern would be enough to seal promotion.

However, a defeat combined with a win for Elversberg would see Cologne slip to third due to an inferior goal difference. 

Even worse, if fourth-placed Paderborn also win, Cologne could drop to fourth and spend another year in the second division - a worst-case scenario that would be a bitter blow.

As if the pressure wasn’t high enough, the club has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons this week. 

Tim Lemperle was reportedly drunk and involved in an incident at a party on a training-free day, bringing unwanted attention ahead of Sunday’s decisive match. 

It’s still unclear whether he’ll be in the squad.

SV Elversberg

Anything is still possible for Elversberg. 

From direct promotion to second place, a route via the promotion play-off, or ending up empty-handed in fourth, fifth, or sixth. 

The club from the small town in Saarland could be promoted for the third time in four years and reach the Bundesliga for the first time in their history.

Before the season, nobody had them on their radar. 

Now, Elversberg is a name known across German football. 

On Sunday, they face Schalke 04, who are stuck in the bottom third of the table and haven’t won in five games. 

A win is realistic.

If Elversberg win and Cologne lose, they would jump to second and go up automatically. 

If both win, Elversberg stay in third and go on to face the 16th-placed Bundesliga side in the promotion play-off. 

If they don’t win, they’ll be relying on results elsewhere. 

A draw or a defeat would leave them hoping that neither Paderborn, Kaiserslautern nor Düsseldorf pick up points. 

One thing in their favour, they have the best goal difference of all five teams still in the race.

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SC Paderborn

Paderborn still have a mathematical chance of finishing second, but it’s a long shot. 

They’re three points behind Cologne and just one behind Elversberg, meaning both would need to lose for Paderborn to reach an automatic promotion spot.

It’s been a fairly unremarkable season for the club from western Germany, but they’ve stayed in the race. 

They’ve won three of their last four games and come into the final weekend in good form.

They host Karlsruhe, who sit in ninth and are capable of pulling off the occasional surprise. 

If the right results come in, Paderborn could find themselves back in the Bundesliga for the first time in five years.

Fortuna Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf are still in the race. 

Currently sitting in fifth, they could climb to third with a win on the final day and secure a place in the promotion play-off.

But it won’t be enough to just win. 

Elversberg and Paderborn must drop points, and Kaiserslautern can’t win by too much, as goal difference could come into play.

It’s a familiar path for Düsseldorf. 

In 2012, they beat Hertha BSC in the promotion play-off as a second-division side. Last year, they fell short against VfL Bochum and missed out.

Now they are hoping for another shot. 

A win is the minimum, and they will be watching the other results closely.

FC Kaiserslautern

Kaiserslautern need a win against Cologne to keep their last, theoretical chance of promotion alive. 

But even then, they’ll need help from elsewhere. 

If Düsseldorf, Elversberg or Paderborn win, Kaiserslautern are out of the running.

The match in Cologne looks set to be an all-or-nothing game for both sides. A final to decide whose season ends with a reward. 

Kaiserslautern are two points behind Elversberg and Paderborn in third and fourth, and level on points with Düsseldorf in fifth.

Both clubs know the Bundesliga well, but for Kaiserslautern, it would mark a long-awaited return after more than a decade outside the top flight.

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