German trio target European berths

Having seen their Champions League campaigns for the current season end, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke will this weekend step up attempts to be back in Europe's elite competition next season.Leverkusen suffered a heart-breaking defeat to Atletico Madrid on penalties on Tuesday, a week after Schalke were eliminated despite winning 4-3 at Real Madrid.Dortmund's destiny was more clear cut with a 3-0 defeat at home to Juventus on Wednesday night and it is they who have the biggest challenge on their hands getting back in next season.They travel to Hannover on Saturday needing to make up 12 points on the top four in the final nine games of the season, or eight to qualify for the Europa League.Both look unlikely with the absence of European football potentially for the next 18 months a sobering thought for Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp."I've already drawn a line under this game and started to forget about Juventus," the German said."There's nothing good about getting knocked out of the Champions League. Okay, so we don't have any more midweek games, but that's an advantage that we don't necessarily want."Nevertheless, we will use it for training."Schalke and Leverkusen both lie fourth and fifth, meanwhile, and their meeting on Saturday evening could be pivotal in terms of qualifying for the Champions League next season."We the team believe we can make it," said Schalke's Sead Kolasinac on his club's website."Our game against Leverkusen is hugely important for realising this goal. Bayer are direct rivals for a place in the Champions League and we're going to be 100 per cent focused, I can promise that much."League leaders Bayern Munich, who can secure their place in the Champions League next season by beating Borussia Monchengladbach, could see their advantage at the top of the Bundesliga cut to eight points by the time they play on Sunday evening.The Wolves are in action a few hours prior at Mainz, who need the points to keep a substantial cushion over the relegation zone.At the bottom of the table, Stuttgart will be bidding to win their first game of the year against Eintracht Frankfurt while Freiburg play high-flying Augsburg and Paderborn welcome Hoffenheim to East Westphalia.Finally, Cologne will also be aiming to keep themselves at a safe distance from the bottom three when they host Werder Bremen on Saturday.

Source: PA-WIRE