1. FSV Mainz 05 will host VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday (15:30 CET) on matchday 13. The Zerofivers will be aiming for a second straight home victory after defeating 1. FC Köln 5-0 on home turf two weeks ago. This game against Wolfsburg marks the final week of Bundesliga action this year. Following this home game, Mainz will play away to Schalke on Wednesday (20:30 CET) and then host Eintracht Frankfurt the following Sunday (15:30 CET). Head coach Bo Svensson feels his side are ready for the busy week. “It will give us the opportunity to take a huge step forward, both in the table and in terms of our own development. We have nine points that are up for grabs,” said Svensson.

VfB Stuttgart earned a 4-1 win over Mainz 05 on Bundesliga Matchday 33 to pick up three important points in their fight for survival.

1. FC Union bounced back from midweek German Cup defeat in Leipzig to come back and beat Domenico Tedesco’s team in the Bundesliga. After a good first-half showing, Union were handed a blow when Yussuf Poulsen scored inside a minute of the second half. But the Köpenick side showed their character to fight back and give themselves a massive chance of qualifying for a second year running for European football. Sven Michel and Kevin Behrens were the super subs on the day, scoring one each to give Union a first Bundesliga victory at the Zentralstadion.

VfL Wolfsburg gave their European hopes a boost with a 5-1 win away to Bochum on Matchday 29. Mattias Svanberg (10’, 56’) hit a brace, while Jakub Kaminski (21’), Patrick Wimmer (34’) and Luca Waldschmidt (77’) were also on the scoresheet for Niko Kovac’s side in front of a crowd of 24,834 at the Vonovia-Ruhrstadion. The victory has moved the Wolves up to eighth in the table.

It’d be a surprise to see him leave, with the chance to break that record now firmly in his sights. If he was to up sticks from Tottenham, though, he might just move within the Premier League.

Marco Reus (to Sky): “It was an all-round deserved victory. We set the course early on, had good control and closed down the centre. And Cologne were no longer able to plug the gaps. The goals were well worked. Mo Dahoud played a really good game. He has been out for so long; I really liked the presence that he showed on the pitch. He’s a great footballer. We dropped off in the second period against Schalke and were very disappointed with the 2-2 draw. That’s why it was important to become league leaders, even if it is only for tonight. We have a really cool game coming up in a fortnight; there’ll be a few players coming back. Even after that it won’t be decided, but it will be a very important game.”

SV Werder Bremen have secured their place in the Bundesliga on matchday 33. In front of 42,100 spectators in the sold-out wohninvest WESERSTADION, the Green-Whites fought their way to a 1-1 draw against 1. FC Köln. After the visitors took the lead through a header from Steffen Tigges (36’), substitute Romano Schmid scored the equaliser from a tight angle (73’). The draw was enough for Werder to confirm their place in the top flight for next season.

Silvère Ganvoula has joined Belgian side Cercle Brugge on loan. He’ll stay in Bruges, who are...

Jeffrey Gouweleeuw: “We started well, but then the red card undid all of that. It’s a harsh call, in my opinion. Despite that, we fought back hard, and continued to do so after going 1-0 down, but when you don’t take your chances, then any game against BVB is going to be tough. However, we’re still in control of our own fate and need to give it everything in Gladbach in order to stay up. The fans were incredible today, their noise and support really pushed us on.” 

The two players received a very warm welcome from the rest of the squad at Sabener Strasse as they prep for Sunday’s massive clash against Union Berlin in the Bundesliga that will have massive title ramifications. That encounter just might be too early to rush either player back, but resuming team training is a massive step in the right direction for the pair of long-term absentees.