Gelsenkirchen, Germany (My Sportsbook) - Bayer Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes missed practice all week but his side did "some really good work" according to assistant Peter Hermann and is ready for Saturday's key clash at Schalke.

Bayer settled for a 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund last weekend, but holds an edge on Hamburg in goal differential entering the 11th week of the season.

Heynckes will be on the bench at the Veltins Arena, where Schalke hopes to end a six-game winless streak against Bayer. The Royal Blues have lost five of the teams' last six meetings.

Schalke has been impressive in its last two matches, ending a long winless run in Stuttgart before drawing Hamburg 3-3 last week. Coach Felix Magath realizes his side is running into a Bayer team that is playing well, but has his sights on a victory.

"Leverkusen may well be playing the league's best football," he said. "We're determined to bring a mini-run to an end.

"We've already ended one run in Stuttgart and came close to ending another against Hamburg. Now we want to play successful football against Leverkusen, too."

Kevin Kuranyi scored two goals in Schalke's last match, helping his side rally from a two-goal, first-half deficit. Kuranyi capped the rally in the 90th, and Schalke sits just two points off the pace in fourth.

Leverkusen was without Heynckes this week because of an illness but Hermann is confident the team is prepared for the trip to Schalke. Hermann mentioned that Manuel Friedrich, Sami Hyypia, Stefan Kiessling, Tranquillo Barnetta and Gonzalo Castro "made an excellent contribution" in practice.

Even with Heynckes back on the bench, Hermann knows Schalke will be tough.

"It will be a tough but attractive challenge playing at Schalke 04," he said. "I saw them play Hamburg on Sunday and it was an impressive game.

"They are committed, strong and have a good mix of young and older players. And, on top of that, their fans get behind their team.

"We know we've got to up our performance levels if we're going to come out on top."

Leverkusen is still without Renato Augusto and Simon Rolfes, but Bayern loanee Toni Kroos continues to make an impact in midfield. Lars Bender, Thomas Zdebe, and Stefan Reinartz will be options to replace Rolfes.

Bayern Munich, sitting four points back in fifth, visits Stuttgart on Saturday trying to climb closer to the leaders. Bayern strikers Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose got on track midweek in a 4-0 victory over Eintracht in the Pokal Cup, and the duo are likely to feature again.

Bayern boss Louis van Gaal also has Arjen Robben and Martin Demichelis back in the mix, as the Munich side looks for its third straight win and to extend its league unbeaten streak to four.

Stuttgart, winless in six straight in all competitions and with just two wins in the Bundesliga, sits in 14th and is level on points with 17th-place Bochum.

On Friday, Nuri Sahin and Lucas Barrios scored and Borussia Dortmund defeated Hertha Berlin, 2-0.

Also Saturday, Hamburg hosts Monchengladbach, Koln hosts Hannover, Wolfsburg hosts Mainz, and Nurnberg hosts Werder Bremen.

On Sunday, Freiburg hosts Hoffenheim and Eintracht hosts Bochum.