When Borussia Dortmund last won the Bundesliga title in 2002, it went into the final three games of the season trailing Bayer Leverkusen by five points.
Now, the roles are reversed. It is Dortmund that holds a five-point lead over Leverkusen and a feeling that it might be losing some momentum.
Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller says the players are not worried even though the team has earned only eight points from the last six games and is coming off a loss at then last-place Borussia Moenchengladbach.
"I don't see much of a problem. We have two home games and a difficult one away. We should win at home against Nuremberg and Frankfurt and that's it," Weidenfeller said.
Just to make sure his players realize that nothing has been won yet, coach Juergen Klopp showed them a video of a cyclist raising his arms in celebration, only to fall on his nose before the finish line.
"I find it good that he prepares us for all possibilities but we all know what's at stake," said Weidenfeller, a 30-year-old veteran on the Bundesliga's youngest team. "We should concentrate on our strengths. We are an extraordinary team, with an extraordinary season behind us and we want to have extraordinary end to it."
Dortmund plays Nuremberg on Saturday, then visits Werder Bremen and hosts Eintracht Frankfurt on the final day of the season.
Leverkusen has a tough match at Cologne, which is fighting against relegation after losing three straight games. If Leverkusen loses and Dortmund wins, Dortmund will have its seventh championship.
Although it has lost some pace, Dortmund doesn't look likely to lose the title like Leverkusen in 2002.
"We haven't converted enough chances that's our problem. We create enough chances to last us two games but we just haven't scored enough. We need some luck and more confidence in finishing," Weidenfeller said. "Even in the games we've lost we played well and showed our quality."
Weidenfeller has conceded only 19 goals in 31 games and has a chance to break Oliver Kahn's record of 21 from 2008.
Nuremberg still has a chance of clinching a place in the Europa League and won't be traveling to Dortmund just to congratulate Klopp and his players on the title.
Leverkusen, however, should have a more difficult job in Cologne, whose coach Frank Schaefer stepped down this week and will be replaced by sporting director Volker Finke on the bench.
More than looking at the title, Leverkusen is seeking first to secure second place and a direct slot in next season's Champions League.
"Under normal circumstances, Dortmund is not going to allow the title to slip away," Leverkusen's midfielder Hanno Balitsch said. "But we should do our homework if they do falter. ... Dortmund is in a good position, but it's a mental thing too. The pressure is high. We are in a better position there because we have nothing to lose."
Bayern Munich is still hoping to move past Hannover into third place and clinch a qualifying spot for the Champions League. Bayern, which escaped with a lucky 1-1 draw at Frankfurt last weekend, hosts Schalke, which lost 2-0 to Manchester United on Tuesday at home in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals.
Schalke has not lost in Munich in three straight Bundesliga games and also won there 1-0 in the German Cup semifinals.
It comes with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer in outstanding form and reportedly heading to Munich next season.
Hannover is seven points behind Leverkusen and one point above Bayern before its game against Moenchengladbach, which moved past St. Pauli on goal difference by beating Dortmund.
St. Pauli visits Kaiserslautern on Friday and a loss there would probably send it down. In another game Friday, Wolfsburg visits Bremen hoping to escape from the relegation playoff spot as third from last.
In other games Saturday, Hamburger SV hosts Freiburg, Frankfurt visits Mainz and Hoffenheim plays Stuttgart. There are no games on Sunday.
