Which Bundesliga teams will join Bayern Munich in next season's UEFA Champions League?

The title race may be all but done and dusted, but there's still plenty to play for in the final six games of the Bundesliga season, with half a dozen teams bidding to join champions-elect Bayern Munich in the 2018/19 UEFA Champions League.

The recent changes to European club competitions formats mean that the top four in the Bundesliga now qualify automatically for the Champions League group stage, rather than the fourth-placed team having to come through a play-off.

As the race for continental football hots up, bundesliga.com profiles the contenders for a place at Europe's top table, as well as the players who can inspire them to a top-four finish...

Schalke (2nd, 52 points)

Schalke are currently enjoying a superb six-game winning streak – one shy of their Bundesliga record – which has included victories over fellow European hopefuls Hoffenheim and Bayer Leverkusen. The Royal Blues are now four points ahead of third-placed Borussia Dortmund and six clear of RB Leipzig in fourth, and a long-awaited home win over BVB in the upcoming Revierderby would go a long way towards securing their top-four status. They also have a DFB Cup semi-final to come on 18 April against Eintracht Frankfurt, the side they entertain on the final day of the league season.

Key man: Domenico Tedesco (Coach)

Schalke's collective machine is so well-oiled that credit has to go to the mechanic. At just 32 years of age, coach Tedesco has shown that he can pit his wits against the best of them, even in his first top-flight season. The reward – provided he can successfully negotiate the final six games – will be the club's first Champions League campaign since 2014/15.

Run-in

07/04: Hamburg (A)15/04: Borussia Dortmund (H)22/04: Cologne (A)28/04: Borussia Mönchengladbach (H)05/05: Augsburg (A)12/05: Eintracht Frankfurt (H)

Borussia Dortmund (3rd, 48 points)

Dortmund fans could be forgiven for feeling a little dizzy after their side's rollercoaster season. A near-perfect start gave way to an eight-match winless streak that catapulted Peter Bosz out of the hot seat before Christmas. Peter Stöger was parachuted in and masterminded a 12-game unbeaten streak in the Bundesliga, only for his side to suffer a chastening 6-0 defeat to Bayern in last week's Der Klassiker. BVB do at least have their fate in their own hands – they face fellow European hopefuls Schalke, Leverkusen and Hoffenheim in the final stretch – so they will only have themselves to blame if they fail to stamp their ticket for the Champions League.

Key man: Marco Reus

While Michy Batshuayi has made a fine start to life at Dortmund, with eight goals in 12 appearances, Reus remains the man who is most likely to make the difference against the top sides. The Germany international was conspicuous by his absence against Bayern, as the record champions ran riot in midfield. BVB have only lost one of the nine games in which he has featured this term – a 2-1 reverse to Salzburg in the UEFA Europa League – while he has scored three goals in five Bundesliga outings. Stöger will be praying that the creative maestro can recover from a muscle problem and help his boyhood club reach the Champions League for the seventh time in eight seasons.

Run-in

08/04: Stuttgart (H)15/04: Schalke (A)21/04: Bayer Leverkusen (H)29/04: Werder Bremen (A) 05/05: Mainz (H)12/05: Hoffenheim (A)

RB Leipzig (4th, 46 points)

It was always going to be tough for Leipzig to repeat their sensational exploits of last season – when they finished runners-up to Bayern in their maiden Bundesliga campaign – but Ralph Hasenhüttl's men have so far avoided the dreaded second season syndrome. In fact, given the added demands of European football, they have perhaps exceeded expectations in 2017/18. While they have occasionally struggled for consistency in the Bundesliga, the Saxony side have claimed high-profile wins over Dortmund and Bayern and currently sit fourth in the table. They are also going strong in the Europa League, where they hold a first-leg lead over French outfit Marseille in the quarter-finals.

Key man: Timo Werner

The 22-year-old Germany forward snapped a run of seven league games without a goal when he netted the winner against Bayern on Matchday 27, and Leipzig will be counting on his turbo-charged runs and ice-cool finishing as they face Leverkusen and Hoffenheim – two sides they failed to beat in the Hinrunde – in their next two home games. With 11 goals for the campaign, Werner will be determined to reel in Freiburg's Nils Petersen (13) and TSG's Mark Uth (12) to finish as the Bundesliga's top-scoring German for the second season running.

Run-in

09/04: Bayer Leverkusen (H)15/04: Werder Bremen (A)21/04: Hoffenheim (H)29/04: Mainz (A)05/05: Wolfsburg (H)12/05: Hertha Berlin (A)

Bayer Leverkusen (5th, 45 points)

Stunned by lowly Cologne before the international break, Leverkusen were held by Augsburg last time out, and will now be desperate to get back on track during a pivotal month of April. Their run-in kicks off with three tough games – Leipzig away, Frankfurt at home and Dortmund away – while there's also the small matter of a DFB Cup semi-final against Bayern on the 17th. Victories over their European rivals would put Heiko Herrlich's troops in an excellent position to reach the Champions League, but consistency has been their Achilles' heel: they have failed to string together three consecutive Bundesliga wins all season.

Key man: Leon Bailey

The Jamaica winger has been one of the Bundesliga's standout performers this season, and his nine goals and six assists have fuelled Leverkusen's charge for a return to the Champions League. Bailey certainly isn't afraid of the big occasion – he's already netted against Schalke, Leipzig and Hoffenheim – and the fleet-footed 20-year-old is likely to carry the biggest goal threat for Die Werkself as they look to finish the campaign on a high note.

Run-in

09/04: RB Leipzig (A)14/04: Eintracht Frankfurt (H)21/04: Borussia Dortmund (A)28/04: Stuttgart (H)05/05: Werder Bremen (A)12/05: Hannover (H)

Eintracht Frankfurt (6th, 45 points)

What a turnaround! When Niko Kovac took over as Frankfurt boss in March 2016, the club were battling relegation and needed a play-off victory over Nuremberg to stay in the Bundesliga. While last season's European push was ended by a dreadful run after Christmas – just three wins in the entire Rückrunde – the Eagles are looking in much better shape this time around, even if they have arguably the toughest run-in. After hosting Hoffenheim, they travel to Leverkusen, Bayern and Schalke, which is hardly ideal for a team who have lost their last four away games. On the flip side, they are enjoying a six-game winning run in all competitions at home, and will be bidding to reach a second straight DFB Cup final when they take on the Royal Blues in mid-April.

Key man: Kevin-Prince Boateng

The former Ghana international insisted this week that, with a little more application, he might have played for Real Madrid. A bold statement, perhaps, but there is no denying the 31-year-old's immense talent, which he has been putting to good use since arriving in Frankfurt last summer. As well as contributing six goals and an assist, Boateng has had the most minutes of any of Kovac's outfield players, and if the Eagles are going to upset the odds and muscle their way into the top four, they will need the ex-Hertha Berlin, AC Milan and Schalke midfielder firing on all cylinders.

Run-in

08/04: Hoffenheim (H)14/04: Bayer Leverkusen (A)21/04: Hertha Berlin (H)28/04: Bayern Munich (A)05/05: Hamburg (H)12/05: Schalke (A)

Hoffenheim (7th, 42 points)

Under the new UEFA competition format, Hoffenheim wouldn't have required a play-off with Champions League quarter-finalists Liverpool at the start of this season, but Julian Nagelsmann's men are still very much in the hunt for a return to Europe after a rather underwhelming Europa League campaign. Confidence will be running high after a 6-0 dismissal of Cologne, which extended their unbeaten league run to five games. With four points separating them from fourth place, TSG will need positive results against rivals Frankfurt, Leipzig and Dortmund if they hope to close the gap.

Key man: Serge Gnabry

The 22-year-old suffered an injury-hit start to the season after joining on loan from Bayern, but he looks to be hitting form at just the right time. With four goals in his last four Bundesliga outings, Gnabry is now up to seven for the season – plus four assists – and the nonchalant ease with which he sliced through the Cologne defence on Matchday 28 should make Hoffenheim's future opponents very nervous indeed.

Run-in

08/04: Eintracht Frankfurt (A)14/04: Hamburg (H)21/04: RB Leipzig (A)27/04: Hannover (H)05/05: Stuttgart (A)12/05: Borussia Dortmund (H)