Schalke Face Derby Duels

Schalke aim to close in on their first national title in 49 years, and Bochum could all but save themselves from relegation if they win on Friday night.

"I would like to see Bochum win the match and Schalke lift the trophy," said Peter Neururer, who has coached both teams in the past.

Schalke have not lost in five trips to Bochum, winning four and drawing once. But Bochum boast the Bundesliga top scorer in Theofanis Gekas, who is ready to add to his 18 goals before a summer move to Bayer Leverkusen.

Schalke are aware of the danger, with sports director Andreas Müller expecting the match to be trickier than the game in a fortnight at their biggest regional rival Borussia Dortmund.

"A lot of people are talking about the Dortmund match, but Bochum could be much tougher for us," Müller said. "We have to win the last four games."

Schalke lead the way with 62 points from Werder Bremen (60) and VfB Stuttgart (58), and can't afford to drop points if they really want to lift the trophy for the first time since 1958.

"I don't think we will relinquish the lead," Schalke playmaker Lincoln said. "But if we do we are strong enough to reclaim it."

Schalke coach Mirko Slomka said his side must concentrate on winning their last four games -- against Bochum, Nuremberg, Dortmund and Arminia Bielefeld -- to make the title safe.

"It's not a question of waiting for one of the others to slip up, we just have to put on a good performance ourselves," he said.

Relegation free-for-all continues

In 11th place, Bochum, are just three points clear of the drop zone and in a fierce fight against relegation involving more than half of the league's 18 teams.

Former champions Borussia Mönchengladbach are the only club all but beyond hope eight points away from safety.

Relegation could become a fact for them if they lose at home on Saturday against Stuttgart, who are coming off a morale-boosting 2-0 against champions Bayern Munich and are in the running for a league and cup double.

Bremen left wondering about Klose

The real danger for Schalke comes from Bremen, who may be left contending only for the German title as their UEFA Cup chances nearly disintegrated after a 3-0 semi-final loss in Barcelona to Espanyol on Thursday.

Bremen's Bundesliga match at troubled Arminia Bielefeld comes on Sunday and could be overshadowed by speculation that their top striker Miroslav Klose will leave for archrival Munich.

Bremen president Jürgen Born and sports director Klaus Allofs, however, ruled out a transfer within Germany but reiterated that Klose could get out of his contract, which runs until 2008, if he has an offer from a foreign club.

German media reported that Klose met with Munich officials, while Spanish media said the German goal scorer was set to join Barcelona.

"There is a contract with Miroslav Klose until 2008 and we have received no offer, neither from Munich nor Barcelona," Born said.

Bad news piles up in Munich

Munich had to bury their remote title hopes last week in Stuttgart and, trailing Stuttgart by five points in fourth place, are also likely to miss the Champions League for the first time in a decade.

There was more bad news ahead of Saturday's match against troubled SV Hamburg as striker Lukas Podolski was ruled out for the rest of the season due to a knee injury that requires surgery. Mark van Bommel, Owen Hargreaves and Claudio Pizarro are all also struggling against injuries but are likely to finish the season.

Second-from-bottom Mainz 05 will be praying for three points and some magic from their Egyptian striker Mohamed Zidan, who has bagged 11 goals this season when they host mid-table Hanover.

Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt, both hovering above the bottom three, will be scrapping for points, while VfL Wolfsburg travel to Nuremberg. On Sunday, Energie Cottbus are at Bayer Leverkusen, who are fifth and currently occupy the final UEFA Cup spot.