Bayern Munich extended their advantage at the Bundesliga summit to eight-points with a 1-0 win over Cologne on Saturday, putting pressure on second-placed Borussia Dortmund ahead of their trip to Augsburg on Sunday.
It took Bayern just 10 minutes to get off the mark at the Rhein Energie Stadion, Robert Lewandowski firing a brilliant finish beyond Timo Horn inside 10 minutes for his 25th top-flight goal this term.
Anthony Modeste and Leonardo Bittencourt passed up opportunities to equalise in the second half as Pep Guardiola's team showed signs of fatigue after requiring extra time to beat Juventus 4-2 in the Champions League on Wednesday.
But Bayern held on for the victory, meaning Dortmund need to win away at Augsburg in order to avoid falling further behind in the title race.
However, Markus Weinzierl's team will be eager to end a run of four matches without a win, with the relegation battle heating up.
Hoffenheim secured back-to-back victories in the same Bundesliga season for the first time since March 2014 to move above Eintracht Frankfurt, who beat Hannover 1-0 courtesy of Anist Ben Hatira's strike, and into 16th on goal difference.
Julian Nagelsmann's team followed up a 1-0 victory over Wolfsburg last weekend by beating Hamburg 3-1 – Andrej Kramaric, Kevin Volland and Eduardo Vargas on target.
Werder Bremen were held 1-1 at home to Mainz to slip to within one point of the relegation zone, a fate shared by Darmstadt after Andre Schurrle netted in stoppage time to salvage the same scoreline for hosts Wolfsburg.
Salomon Kalou helped to keep Hertha Berlin on track for a Champions League place, his strike helping secure a 2-1 win against Ingolstadt to open up a six-point advantage over fifth-placed Borussia Monchengladbach.
