Hamburg 2-0 Schalke 04

Hamburg are six-time Bundesliga champions

Hamburg avoided relegation after a 2-0 win over Schalke but will now face a play-off to prevent them slipping out of the Bundesliga for the first time.

The six-time champions have been ever present since the top division's formation in 1963 but finished third bottom and face the third-placed team from the second tier, Karlsruher.

Ivica Olic and Slobodan Rajkovic scored second-half goals for Hamburg.

A 2-1 win for Stuttgart over bottom team Paderborn ensured their safety.

Hamburg's win means they will compete in the two-legged relegation play-off for the second successive season. Last term, they beat Greuther Fuerth to keep their Bundesliga record intact.

Former Tottenham midfielder Lewis Holtby set up Rajkovic from a curling free-kick to seal Hamburg's victory over Schalke, and the extra games means that Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart could now feature, having missed this match through suspension.

The 1983 European Cup winners Hamburg will contest the first leg of their play-off on Thursday 28 May with the second leg on Monday 1 June.

Meanwhile, Paderborn were joined in Bundesliga 2 by Freiburg, who lost 2-1 at Hannover.

After Bundesliga 2 games on Sunday, Darmstadt joined champions Ingolstadt in being promoted to the top flight.

It is Darmstadt's second promotion in successive seasons under coach Dirk Schuster and they return to the top tier for the first time in 33 years.