The clash at the BayArena - as Roger Schmidt's Bayer Leverkusen prepare to host Borussia Monchengladbach - promises to be an exciting affair, as two of Bundesliga's heavyweights do battle. Both these sides will feasibly expect to finish in the top four come the end of the campaign, and although it is still early days in the season, three points would be a huge boost towards that goal.

"We want to go into the winter break with a good feeling, we need  to gather all our strength"

- Roger Schmidt

Leverkusen boss Schmidt has spoken on the importance of performing well ahead of German football's winter break, as his side prepare to play three games in seven days: "We've got nine points to play for in the next seven days and it's going to be an important week," he said. "We want to go into the winter break with a good feeling, which is why we need to gather all of our strength for these games.'' Schmidt knows, however, that breaking down a tough Gladbach side will be difficult, and he had some effusive praise for their play: "They're well organised opponents who have plenty of good footballers among their ranks,'' Schmidt said. "I don't expect them to come out all guns blazing, but their biggest strength is in their counter-attacking play.

Leverkusen know they are in a position of strength for Sunday's game, as they qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League midweek - despite surrendering top spot in their group after a 0-0 draw with Benfica. Schmidt's side go into the fixture on the back off a 1-0 defeat - to league leaders Bayern Munich - in their last Bundesliga match, however, but will take heart from a tight encounter. Their position alongside Gladbach in the Bundesliga could not be much tighter, with both sides on 23 points and a +7 goal difference, and it is clearly everything to play for on Sunday.

Gladbach and manager Lucien Favre, it is safe to say, will be as equally confident, if not more so, as they continue their impressive start to the campaign both domestically and in Europe. Their midweek exploits in the Europa League saw them seal their place in the last 32 with a 3-0 win over FC Zurich - including a delicious chip from Branimir Hrgota. Favre knows, however, that their Bundesliga match against Leverkusen will be a step up in quality from that European tie.

Despite that, their Bundesliga campaign - like that of their hosts on Sunday - has been largely impressive, and they sit outside of the Champions League places merely due to the fact they have scored less goals than Leverkusen. Gladbach will also take confidence from their last Bundesliga outing, where they saw off Hertha Berlin 3-2, but with a hectic schedule in the next week, Favre knows that three points over the side alongside them in the table will be a real boost going forward into the winter break.