Schalke, Germany (My Sportsbook) - Schalke earned its first win in nine years at Stuttgart last week and visits Hamburg on Sunday trying to earn another big win as it chases the top spot in the Bundesliga.

Schalke moved to third with last weekend's win and a victory over second-place Hamburg at Veltins Arena would move the Royal Blues level on points with Bayer Leverkusen atop the Bundesliga.

Hamburg, which would take over first with a win, has not lost at Schalke since 2004.

"After ending one negative run in Stuttgart, we now have the opportunity to end another," Schalke coach Felix Magath said. "That's the target we have set ourselves going into the game."

"We want to cement our position at the top end of the table and put some distance between us and the teams below."

Schalke has won three straight league games since a loss to Wolfsburg on Sept. 18, and Magath hopes his side can take advantage of a tired Hamburg squad.

Hamburg, which is still undefeated in the Bundesliga, won 1-0 at Celtic on Thursday in the Europa League.

"We have to take advantage of the situation that Hamburg played in midweek and will still be feeling the effects of traveling to Glasgow," Magath said.

Jefferson Farfan leads Schalke with four goals, two off the pace of Bundesliga leaders Claudio Pizarro of Werder Bremen and Stefan Kiessling of Bayer.

Marcus Berg scored for Hamburg in the win at Celtic, which moved his side atop Group C with six points, and Ze Roberto leads the team with four goals in the league.

Magath also realizes Hamburg's win over Celtic just proved how tough the side will be this season.

"Hamburg showed they are up there with the best in Europe," Magath said.

On Friday, Manuel Friedrich scored in the 65th to help Bayer Leverkusen post a 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund. Lucas Barrios scored in the eighth to hand Dortmund the early lead, but Friedrich earned a point and a small cushion atop the standings for Bayer.

On Saturday, Bayern will try to bounce back from its 2-1 Champions League loss at Bordeaux when it hosts Eintracht, Monchengladbach hosts Koln, Mainz hosts Freiburg, Hannover hosts Stuttgart and Hoffenheim hosts Nurnberg.

Also Sunday, Hertha Berlin will try to snap its eight-game losing streak when it hosts Wolfsburg, and Werder Bremen will try to extend its 14-match unbeaten run in all competitions when it visits Bochum.