How could six Bundesliga teams qualify for next season's Champions League?

With Borussia Dortmund now through to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, there is a small chance that the Bundesliga could see six teams in Europe’s top competition next season.

Starting with the 2024-25 Champions League campaign (with the new formatted competition structure), UEFA is to award two extra places in its top competition to two separate countries with the highest UEFA coefficient from the previous season’s Champions League season.

This means that leagues in both Germany and Italy (as it currently stands) will get at the very least five spots for the 24-25 Champions League due to their coefficient. 

However, the situation gets a bit more complicated when you considered that Borussia Dortmund (who are not yet guaranteed Champions League football with their Bundesliga position) are in the last four of this year’s edition.

If Borussia Dortmund were to finish fifth or lower in the Bundesliga this season and win the Champions League at Wembley, Germany would receive six places in the Champions League for the 24-25 edition.

Why would Germany receive six spots instead of five?

Well, because the top five in the Bundesliga will automatically qualify for the Champions League next season due to their league position (UEFA coefficient allowing) then Borussia Dortmund finishing outside the top four means that they are ineligible for this criteria.

This is the case because they would instead automatically qualify for the competition as the winners instead of meeting the criteria through league placement. 

Which teams are in the race to finish sixth?

First off, the current team in sixth in the Bundesliga are Eintracht Frankfurt. However, they only have a three point lead over Augsburg in seventh and have not won since before the international break. 

With games against none other than Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich still to come, Dino Toppmöller is at real risk of losing the sixth place to Augsburg.

In seventh place currently, Augsburg have been the surprise team of the second half of the season and have picked up some real steam under Jess Thorup. 

With players like Ermedin Demirović, Rubén Vargas and Kevin Mbabu being excellent throughout a stretch of games in recent weeks, Augsburg look favourites to pip Frankfurt to the sixth place despite tough fixtures to come.

Joint on points with Jess Thorup’s side are Freiburg. Also having thirty-nine points, the side from south Germany may well receive one special parting gift from Christian Streich. 

Having never reached Europe’s top level under Streich, Freiburg could end his illustrious time at the club with the present of Champions League on the cards.

Bearing Games against Mainz and Köln in the bottom three to come, Freiburg have the easiest stretch of fixtures out of any of the sixth-place hopefuls.

Lastly, Hoffenheim have a very outside chance of finishing sixth but due to their poor form and Rückrunde in general, they will most likely not make up the six point gap with five games still to go.