Monchengladbach, Leverkusen square off for third
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Monchengladbach, Germany (SportsNetwork.com) - Monchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen meet up on Saturday in a match that will go a long way toward determining automatic Champions League places in the Bundesliga.
The two sides are separated by two points ahead of Saturday's match, with Gladbach sitting two points clear of Leverkusen with three games to play.
Both teams have already been assured of a spot in the top four, but both would like to avoid a fourth-place finish and having to play in the Champions League playoff.
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Leverkusen may sit two points back and be on the road on Saturday, but the club is full of confidence after a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich last time out to keep the club within touching distance of the top three.
"We know we've got to get a result at Gladbach but it's in our own hands," said Leverkusen defender Roberto Hilbert. "There is no shortage of confidence."
The club is in the midst of a 10-game unbeaten streak in league play and can even close in on second-place Wolfsburg with a win, further strengthening their cause for a spot in next season's Champions League.
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Monchengladbach will certainly not be short on confidence either as the team is unbeaten in its last 11 league games and is coming off of a 2-1 victory at Hertha Berlin.
Second-place Wolfsburg has seen its hold on a top-two spot slip in recent weeks and the club will attempt to halt its three-match winless streak at relegation-battling Paderborn, which sits one point above the drop zone.
Champions Bayern Munich host Europa League hopefuls Augsburg, while fifth- place Schalke resides two points clear of Augsburg and hopes to maintain that position with a win at Cologne on Sunday.
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Borussia Dortmund is still alive in the Europa League race and hosts Hertha Berlin, Eintracht hosts Hoffenheim, Hannover battles Werder Bremen, and last- place Stuttgart tries to keep its survival hopes alive with a win over Mainz.
On Friday, Hamburg salvaged a point at home against Freiburg with a goal in the 90th minute from Gojko Kacar to help his side to a 1-1 draw.