Dortmund, Germany – Borussia Dortmund has established itself as the best team in the Bundesliga, and can wrap up its second straight title Saturday before it even takes the field.
Dortmund hosts Monchengladbach, but Bayern Munich visits Werder Bremen earlier in the day, and a defeat or tie from the record champions will seal Dortmund's title.
With Bayern Munich likely to rest a number of starters with the second game of its Champions League semifinal at Real Madrid on Wednesday, Dortmund could use the visit by Gladbach as a celebration.
Although Dortmund struggled in the Champions League, it has been the top squad domestically. In its last two matches, Dortmund has downed Bayern and Schalke, the two teams behind it in the standings.
"We proved today again that we are an absolute top team," Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller said after the win over Schalke last weekend.
Now, Gladbach - which is fourth in the standings - visits Signal Iduna Park on Saturday trying not to become the next victim of Jurgen Klopp's club.
While Dortmund is on an incredible 25-match league undefeated streak, Gladbach has an opportunity to overtake Schalke for third place and the third and final spot for direction qualification to the Champions League group stage.
Fourth place also advances to next season's Champions League, but will have to navigate the qualification round.
Bayern defeated Real Madrid, 2-1, on Tuesday in the first leg of their series, and Bremen could not have picked a better time to play the Bavarians. Bremen, which is eighth, has just two wins over its last 15 games but still has a shot at a Europa League place.
Bayern holds a seven-point cushion over Schalke for third place, meaning even a loss this weekend would be little threat to its second-place finish.
"We obviously have to watch ourselves, because Real have so much quality in attack, as we saw when they scored. But I'm confident we'll make it," Bayern winger Arjen Robben said of the second leg.
Stuttgart sits fifth and holds the pole position for the first Europa spot and visits relegation-threatened Cologne on Saturday. Sixth-place Bayer Leverkusen has the second Europa berth and visits Hoffenheim on Saturday.
Hannover, one point behind Leverkusen in seventh, hosts Freiburg on Sunday.
Also Saturday, Hertha Berlin hosts Kaiserslautern in a clash of the bottom two sides, and Nurnberg hosts Hamburg. Schalke visits Augsburg, which is four from danger, in Sunday's other match.
Wolfsburg visits Mainz on Friday to kick off the weekend's action.
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