Wolves escape drop zone with win at Bremen

Posted Saturday, April 30, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

BERLIN, Germany (AFP) - 2009 champions VfL Wolfsburg boosted their chances of Bundesliga survival on Friday with a 1-0 win at Werder Bremen to move clear of the bottom three for the first time in nearly two months.

This is the first time since March 5 Wolves have moved out of the drop zone places after defender Sascha Riether netted a 22nd-minute winner and the three points boosted Wolfsburg to 14th place—a point clear of the relegation zone.

Felix Magath, who guided Wolfsburg to their league crown, took over after Wolves sacked former England manager Steve McClaren in February and has two games to save his side from relegation.

St Pauli are almost sure of being relegated after they were beaten 2-0 at Kaiserslautern.

The Hamburg-based side are bottom of the league, six points from safety, with two games left and an inferior goal difference compared to their relegation rivals.

Kaiserslautern are almost certain to stay up after the victory which lifts them up to 11th in the table.

League leaders Borussia Dortmund can win the Bundesliga title on Saturday if they beat Nuremberg at home and second-placed Bayer Leverkusen lose at relegation-threatened Cologne.

Despite having a 12-point lead at the start of March, Borussia have seen their lead cut to just five points and the title race could now go to the final day with the season set to finish on May 14.

After the Nuremberg game, Borussia face Bremen away and then Eintracht Frankfurt in Dortmund on the final day, while, after this weekend, Leverkusen host Hamburg on May 7 and then are at Freiburg on May 14.