Which Bundesliga teams are competing for a place in Europe next season?
With only three games left of the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign to play, the race for the European places is heating up.
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have secured their place in next season's UEFA Champions League, but several other clubs are intent on joining Germany’s powerhouses at Europe’s top table via a top-four (or potentially top-five) finish.
UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League spots are also at stake, with seventh place now also enough to secure continental football in 2026/27.
So which teams are involved? We have the lowdown on the contenders…
How does European qualification work in Germany?
Club: Bayern Munich
Position: 1st (automatic Champions League qualification)
Points: 82 (31 games)
Goal difference: +81 (113-32)
Next fixture: Heidenheim (h)
Twenty-five points clear of fifth-placed Hoffenheim, the newly crowned champions' place in Europe’s premier club competition next season is assured. Their dramatic stoppage-time comeback win over Freiburg on Matchday 28 guaranteed them a top-four spot.
Vincent Kompany’s side have dropped only 11 Bundesliga points this term, scoring 48 more goals and conceding fewer than any other team in the division.
Watch: The best of Bayern's title celebrations
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: 2nd (automatic Champions League qualification)
Points: 67 (31 games)
Goal difference: +34 (65-31)
Next fixture: Borussia Mönchengladbach (a)
Dortmund sneaked into the Champions League places on a dramatic final day last season, but things were a bit more comfortable for Niko Kovač’s charges this time, as they made sure of qualification on Matchday 31.
Die Schwarzgelben's impressive 4-0 victory over Freiburg mathematically clinched a spot in next season’s Champions League, as they now hold a 10-point cushion over Hoffenheim in fifth spot with only nine up for grabs.
See what was decided on Matchday 31
Watch: Dortmund defeat Freiburg to book a slot in the 2026/27 Champions League
Club: RB Leipzig
Position: 3rd (automatic Champions League qualification)
Points: 62 (31 games)
Goal difference: +24 (62-38)
Next fixture: Bayer Leverkusen (a)
Die Roten Bullen missed out on Europe for the first time in their top-flight history last term, but they are already guaranteed at least a place in the Europa League.
An emphatic 5-0 victory over Hoffenheim saw them leapfrog their European rivals on goal difference, while further wins over Werder Bremen, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt and Union Berlin have put them five points clear of fifth as they look to return to the Champions League.
Watch: Leipzig maintain top-four push with Union win
Club: VfB Stuttgart
Position: 4th (automatic Champions League qualification)
Points: 57 (31 games)
Goal difference: +20 (63-43)
Next fixture: Hoffenheim (a)
The DFB Cup holders and 2026 finalists are well positioned to clinch a place in Europe for the third season running.
Having competed in the inaugural league phase of the Champions League last term, Sebastian Hoeneß’s side managed to make it into the last 16 of this season’s Europa League, and they have every reason to be aiming even higher in 2026/27.
They are guaranteed at least Europa League football again, either through their assured top-six finish or by beating Bayern in the DFB Cup final. But a top-four finish and return to the Champions League is also in their own hands - a Matchday 32 visit to Hoffenheim, who are one place behind and level on points, will likely prove pivotal.
Club: Hoffenheim
Position: 5th (automatic Europa League qualification)
Points: 57 (31 games)
Goal difference: +16 (61-45)
Next fixture: Stuttgart (h)
Having only narrowly avoided relegation last season, a return to continental competition is Hoffenheim’s is now assured after a remarkable turnaround in form.
A run of two points from four games saw them drop out of the top four, but Matchday 30's win over Dortmund kept them in the race. A Europa League ticket was guaranteed on Matchday 31, but a place at the continent's top table - for the first time since 2018/19 - could still be within reach.
Watch: Hamburg 1-2 Hoffenheim - highlights
Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Position: 6th (automatic Europa League qualification)
Points: 55 (31 games)
Goal difference: +20 (62-42)
Next fixture: Leipzig (h)
After a strong start under Kasper Hjulmand, Leverkusen too have been striving for consistency in Germany’s top flight.
Die Werkself have been beaten by Stuttgart, Hoffenheim and Union since January, but a dramatic point against Bayern on Matchday 26 and an impressive win in Dortmund on Matchday 29 have kept their hopes of Champions League qualification alive. They then followed that up with a loss against Augsburg despite firing off 37 shots.
A DFB Cup final between Bayern and Stuttgart means that sixth place in the Bundesliga now equates to Europa League qualification instead of the Conference League, but the Champions League is still an achievable goal, given their fixtures against Leipzig and Stuttgart in the final weeks.
Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Position: 7th (Conference League play-offs)
Points: 43 (31 games)
Goal difference: -2 (56-58)
Next fixture: Hamburg (h)
Third last season, Frankfurt have struggled for consistency but have found some stability under new head coach Albert Riera.
Only six other teams have found the net more often than the Eagles in the Bundesliga this term, while Riera appears to have shored up a defence that had conceded a worrying 45 league goals prior to his arrival.
A 2-1 defeat in Mainz on Matchday 27 and a subsequent 2-2 draw with Cologne dealt a blow to Eintracht's European hopes, and the Matchday 30 loss to Leipzig hurt their chances further. But they now know that seventh place will bring European football. Any additional places will only be known after the campaign concludes.
That is because a possible fifth Champions League qualifier also changes the equation. Freiburg's potential Europa League success would result in further potential alterations, depending on their final league position.
Club: Freiburg
Position: 8th
Points: 43 (30 games)
Goal difference: -4 (44-52)
Next fixture: Wolfsburg (h)
Freiburg are through to the semi-finals of this season’s Europa League, but back-to-back top-six finishes in Germany’s top flight are now out of reach for Julian Schuster’s side.
The Black Forest club hadn't lost at the Europa-Park Stadion since the opening weekend of the campaign until their Matchday 26 defeat to Union. They then conceded a 2-0 lead in stoppage time against Bayern on Matchday 28, but attained a solid away success in Mainz the following week before getting the better of Heidenheim to make it five wins from six in all competitions and climb to seventh, which now brings Conference League qualification.
A heavy defeat in Dortmund on Matchday 31 dropped them back down to eighth. But going all the way in the Europa League would see Freiburg into the Champions League for the first time ever.
Freiburg's results could bring the Bundesliga NINE teams in Europe
