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BERLIN (AFP) –
Leverkusen’s defender Oemer Toprak (L) celebrates scoring during their German first division Bundesliga football match against Nuremberg in Nuremberg, southern Germany on May 4, 2013. Bayer Leverkusen won 2-0.
Third-placed Bayer Leverkusen sealed automatic qualification for the Champions League on Saturday with a 2-0 win at Nuremberg ahead of the showdown between Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
Germany’s top two teams meet at Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park in a dress rehearsal of the Champions League final at Wembley on May 25 with both sides naming weakened teams.
Earlier, a first-half goal from defender Omer Toprak and a second-half penalty by Germany striker Stefan Kiessling sealed Leverkusen’s win at Nuremberg before winger Sidney Sam fired his late penalty attempt wide for the visitors.
The win means the Werkself are guaranteed to finish at least third, while Schalke 04 closed in on fourth place and a spot in the Champions League play-offs with a 1-0 victory at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday.
Julian Draxler scored the 82nd-minute winner to keep the Royal Blues fourth in the table.
Eintracht Frankfurt captain Alexander Maier kept his side in the hunt for fourth with two goals in their 3-1 win at home to Fortuna Duesseldorf on Saturday.
Frankfurt’s midfielder Alexander Meier (C) tries to score during their German first division Bundesliga football match against Fortuna Duesseldorf in Frankfurt am Main, central Germany, on May 4, 2013. Maier kept his side in the hunt for fourth with two goals in their 3-1 win at home to Fortuna Duesseldorf.
With two games left, fifth-placed Frankfurt are three points behind Schalke and are all but guaranteed a Europa League spot next season ahead of their remaining games against Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg.
Werder are still locked in the relegation battle after throwing away a 2-0 lead at home to second-from-bottom Hoffenheim with substitute Svenn Schipplock scoring two goals in the last six minutes to rescue a point.
Hoffenheim are still two points from safety, while Bremen are now only three points above the bottom three with two games left.
Thomas Schaaf’s side had taken the lead at the Weserstadion after being awarded a penalty after just 20 seconds.
Already-relegated Greuther Fuerth picked up a shock win at ten-man Stuttgart — only their fourth victory of the season — as an own-goal from the home side’s Japan centre-back Gotoku Sakai and a late effort from Ilir Azemi sealed a 2-0 win.
The hosts were reduced to 10 men when defender Antonio Ruediger was sent off for a foul in the area on 74 minutes, but Stuttgart goalkeeper Sven Ulreich managed to save the resulting penalty.
In Saturday’s other game, Hanover 96 drew 2-2 with Mainz. On Sunday, Augsburg can escape the bottom three with just a point at Freiburg while Hamburg host Wolfsburg.
