The Bundesliga relegation battle is heating up, with Heidenheim, St. Pauli, Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg amongst the teams in trouble.
Heidenheim currently sit rock bottom, but Frank Schmidt’s side are within touching distance of several teams as we enter the final three months of the 2025/26 campaign.
How does relegation work in Germany?
Club: Heidenheim
Position: 18th (automatic relegation)
Points: 13
Goal difference: -28 (19-47)
Next fixture: Augsburg (a)
After narrowly avoiding relegation by defeating Elversberg in the play-off last term, Heidenheim are once again embroiled in a battle to beat the drop in what is their third campaign amongst the elite.
Eight defeats and just one victory in their opening 11 matches immediately put them in trouble, and while they managed back-to-back victories over Union Berlin and Freiburg to stop the rot, they have again slipped into a winless run.
They have had trouble at both ends of the pitch, scoring the least amount of goals (19) and conceding the most (47). Time is slowly running out for Schmidt’s men as they look to avoid finishing in the bottom three, where they have spent the whole season so far.
Watch: Heidenheim beaten at home by HSV
Club: St. Pauli
Position: 17th (automatic relegation)
Points: 17
Goal difference: -19 (20-39)
Next fixture: Werder Bremen (h)
The 2025/26 term started positively for Pauli, picking up seven points from their first three Bundesliga games, including a win in the first Hamburg Bundesliga derby in 14 years at the Volksparkstadion. However, things quickly turned sour, with the Kiezkicker losing each of their subsequent nine fixtures.
They started 2026 very slowly, failing to beat the likes of Wolfsburg, Borussia Dortmund, Hamburg and Augsburg. Like last season, when Pauli ended as the lowest scorers in the top flight, finding the back of the net has proven to be their biggest problem.
A big 2-1 home win against Stuttgart on Matchday 21 has put them back within touching distance of Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg above them, but a humbling 4-0 defeat away to Leverkusen on Matchday 22 did further damage to St. Pauli’s goal difference.
Watch: Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 St. Pauli – highlight
Club: Werder Bremen
Position: 16th (play-off)
Points: 19
Goal difference: -20 (22-42)
Next fixture: FC St. Pauli
Following three years of Bundesliga solidity at the Weserstadion, Ole Werner moved on to RB Leipzig during the summer. Horst Steffen, who had taken Elversberg to the brink of the top flight in 2024/25, appeared to be a shrewd appointment as his replacement, but it didn’t work out that way.
In his 20 games in charge, he managed just 19 points, with the summer exit of striker Marvin Ducksch deeply felt – just two teams have scored fewer than their 22 goals in the league this term.
Daniel Thioune has been charged with arresting Bremen’s slide down the table, but started his tenure with a narrow defeat to Freiburg on Matchday 21, followed by a 3-0 loss at home to Bayern on Matchday 22.
Daniel Thioune has been charged with keeping Bremen in the Bundesliga. – IMAGO/osnapix / Titgemeyer
Club: Wolfsburg
Position: 15th
Points: 19
Goal difference: -15 (29-44)
Next fixture: RB Leipzig (a)
Given Wolfsburg’s pedigree as Bundesliga and DFB Cup winners in the last 17 years, as well as their participation in the UEFA Champions League just five years ago, it is surprising that they find themselves in the bottom half of the table once more.
Having finished 12th and 11th in 2023/24 and 2024/25 respectively, the Wolves are again in difficulty. While their offensive performance has been respectable, only two sides have conceded more than their 44 strikes – a number exacerbated by the 8-1 loss to Bayern immediately after the winter break.
Daniel Bauer, who replaced Paul Simonis as head coach earlier in the season, will be hoping the January additions of Kento Shiogai, Jeanuël Belocian and Jonas Adjetey can give his team extra impetus to move away from danger in coming matchdays.
Watch: Bayern Munich 8-1 Wolfsburg – highlights
Club: Mainz
Position: 14th
Points: 21
Goal difference: -12 (25-37)
Next fixture: Hamburg (h)
By Matchday 12 of the current campaign, last season’s top-six finish and corresponding qualification for the UEFA Conference League seemed a distant memory. The paltry six points Mainz had amassed were a joint club record at that point of a campaign, and they found themselves rooted to the bottom of the table.
As such, Bo Henriksen was relieved of his duties and was replaced by Urs Fischer – a decision that has already had a huge impact. A 2-2 draw against Bayern in his first Bundesliga game in charge set the tone as Mainz picked up 14 points from their next seven league games, before losing at Dortmund on Matchday 22.
The Zerofivers remain four points above the bottom two, though, and given their improving form, you wouldn’t bet against them bouncing back at home to Hamburg next weekend.
Watch: Nadiem Amiri – Mainz’s beacon of hope
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