Four teams angle for second position in Bundesliga action

With the championship already decided in Bayern Munich's favor, the battle in the Bundesliga is for second place -- and against relegation.

Four teams are seeking to gain the spot that guarantees a berth in the Champions League next season -- Schalke, Stuttgart, Werder Bremen and Hertha Berlin.

Third place means a place in the pre-qualifying rounds of the Champions League, while fourth and fifth guarantee spots in the less prestigious UEFA Cup.

Schalke sits second with 57 points. Stuttgart has 55, while Bremen and Berlin have 53 with three rounds remaining in the season.

Bayern clinched its 19th German title last week with a 4-0 win at Kaiserslautern and has the chance to celebrate in front of its home fans when it plays Mainz today.

Bayern leads Schalke by 11 points, so can focus upon preparations for the May 28 German Cup final against Schalke. Felix Magath could end up with a two trophies in his first season as Bayern coach.

Mainz is coming off a 6-2 drubbing of Bochum that practically assured the newcomer of another season in the top division. Mainz needs one more point to be certain.

Magath gave his players three days off after securing the title, but promised that his team won't let up.

"The players are refreshed and ready for new duties," Magath said. "We want to win all three remaining games and we are now concentrating on the match against Mainz.

"We still have a great goal and that's the cup final, that's something I've been waiting for a long time."

Schalke travels to Arminia Bielefeld hoping to snap the slump that gifted Bayern the title.

In the last six games, Schalke has one win, one draw and four defeats.

Last week, it let slip a 3-1 lead against Bayer Leverkusen to draw 3-3, a result that finally delivered the title to Bayern.

Stuttgart also has struggled. Matthias Sammer's team has only one point from the last three games and hasn't been able to profit from Schalke's problems. On Saturday, it hosts Hannover 96, which has lost three of the last four.

Werder Bremen surrendered its title but was the only team among Bayern's closest followers to win last week, beating Bielefeld 3-0.

Bremen travels to Borussia Dortmund tomorrow.

Berlin had its ambitions dampened by a 2-1 loss at Rostock and will hope to make up for it at home to Wolfsburg on Saturday.

Rostock is still hoping to avoid relegation. It is tied with Bochum at 29 points, five away from safety.