Max Kruse (r.) and Gladbach and Naldo's Wolfsburg could still break into the top four with victory on the final day
Max Kruse (r.) and Gladbach and Naldo's Wolfsburg could still break into the top four with victory on the final day

Wolfsburg and Gladbach eyeing Champions League play-off spot

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Wolfsburg - There's something of a who'll-blink-first feel to Borussia Mönchengladbach's Matchday 34 trip to VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 13:30 GMT/15:30 CEST).

'Anything is possible'

Both clubs already have UEFA Europa League football in the bag, with the fifth-placed Wolves needing just a point at the Volkswagen Arena to qualify automatically and leave the Foals in the play-offs. Victory for either side, on the other hand, could of the current top six altogether.

Should Borussia manage to get the better of Wolfsburg, they would leapfrog VfL to secure fifth place. If Bayer 04 Leverkusen simultaneously lose at home to SV Werder Bremen, meanwhile, Gladbach could finish the campaign in fourth, which would send them into the UEFA Champions League play-offs instead.

"You often get surprises on the final day of the season," said Gladbach head honcho Lucien Favre. "Anything is possible. That said, we have no control over what Leverkusen do, so we would be better off just concentrating on our own job."

'Cup final'


It's a similar outlook for hosts Wolfsburg, who know three points against Gladbach coupled with Leverkusen failing to win at the BayArena will take them to within a two-legged play-off of a place in the group stages of European football's elite club competition for the first time since lifting the Meisterschale in 2009.

"There is tension within the team," admitted Wolfsburg head coach Dieter Hecking at Thursday's pre-match press conference. "It's like a cup final. The lads want to win at all costs. We need to do our homework and we also want to end the season in front of our own fans with a win. We're ready for it."

Possible line-ups:

Wolfsburg: Benaglio - Träsch, Naldo, Knoche, Rodriguez - Luiz Gustavo, Polak - de Bruyne, Arnold, Perisic - Olic

Gladbach: ter Stegen - Korb, Jantschke, Stranzl, Alvaro Dominguez - Kramer, Nordtveit - Herrmann, Arango - Raffael - M. Kruse

Christopher Mayer-Lodge

Catch Gladbach's trip to the Volkswagen Arena live on TuneIn - the Bundesliga international radio

Check out this beauty from Wolfsburg's Kevin De Bruyne on the official Bundesliga YouTube channel: