The season in the U17 Bundesliga West is drawing to a close. That’s the situation in the relegation battle.

The first decision in the title fight of the U17-Bundesliga West has already been made this weekend. Three matchdays before the end of the season, FC Schalke 04 booked a ticket for the final round. After winning the top match against Arminia Bielfeld, the Königsblauen can no longer be denied a place in the semi-finals of the German championship. The B Juniors thus wrote club history.

It is still open who will follow Schalke into the final round as runners-up. Arminia Bielefeld, the surprise team of the season, has the best chances and is three points ahead of Borussia Dortmund. Four points behind Arminia Bielefeld, Bayer Leverkusen, 1. FC Köln and Borussia Mönchengladbach can at best count on being outsiders.

At the other end of the table, two teams already have certainty. SV Deutz, with zero points and 9:58 goals, had already been relegated before the winter break. This weekend, Sportfreunde Siegen were also relegated. The bitter 2:3 defeat against SC Paderborn means that they can now plan for the Westfalenliga.

And it should only be a matter of time before Fortuna Köln also have certainty. SC is six points behind the first non-relegation place. So mathematically, it is still possible to stay in the league. Whether Fortuna will manage to catch up on SC Paderborn by six points and 21 goals in two games is doubtful.

There is a little more hope for FC Hennef and Preußen Münster in the remaining two relegation places. They have four and three points respectively and will face a top team and a relegated team on each of the last two matchdays (Hennef against BVB and Siegen, Münster against Fortuna and Bielefeld).

Above the line, SC Paderborn (three points ahead), MSV Duisburg (four) and Rot-Weiss Essen (five) are not yet saved. All three can secure their place in the league next weekend.