Hoffenheim coach Holger Stanislawski wants to cut a rejuvenated Schalke down to size when the sides meet in Gelsenkirchen this weekend.
The Royal Blues have moved up to third in the table since Huub Stevens took charge, but Hoffenheim have won their last two games and Stanislawski sees no reason why they cannot throw their hats into the ring for a place in the Champions League next season with a win at the Arena AufSchalke.
"The wins in the cup against Cologne and previously in the league against Monchengladbach have given us the self-confidence to be able to win there," said Stanislawski in quotes reported by Kicker magazine.
"We want to continue our positive trend."
A win on Saturday could take Hoffenheim from eighth in the table to as high as second while Bayern Munich's defeat at Hannover last weekend means the title race is wide open once again.
Even defending champions Borussia Dortmund - labelled a 'crisis club' just a few weeks ago - are now just one win away from the summit.
They travel to fifth-placed Stuttgart on Saturday with both sides currently in a rich vein of form.
Fourth-placed Hannover is also on course for another successful season, despite being knocked out of the DFB-Pokal in midweek.
They can move a step closer to the knockout stages of the Europa League next Thursday, but before their trip to Copenhagen, they travel to Borussia Monchengladbach, who are just one point but three positions behind them in a very tight top eight.
Elsewhere, Bayern entertain Nurnberg in a Bavarian derby and Wolfsburg host Hertha Berlin.
Saturday evening's game is between Mainz and Werder Bremen while Cologne's clash with Augsburg and Hamburg's first home game under their new coach Thorsten Fink against Kaiserslautern are scheduled for Sunday.
The weekend commences with Bayer Leverkusen coach Robin Dutt's return to his former club Freiburg on Friday night.
"This game has an importance from my Leverkusen point of view and a significance from my Freiburg past, but the importance outweighs the significance by a mile," said Dutt.
"I have never had so little contact with Freiburg as I have had this week."
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