Hannover, Germany (SportsNetwork.com) - Stuttgart inched a bit further from the bottom three on Friday with a 0-0 draw at Hannover that leaves the club five points clear of the relegation places.
Chances were few and far between in a match featuring two bottom-half sides, but despite having few opportunities it was Stuttgart that had the best chance of the game.
Daniel Didavi delivered a cross to the front of goal for Cacau, but he failed to put his shot on target from a few yards, spurning the best chance for either side.
Hannover had a late look at goal but Lars Stindl saw his effort saved from eight yards by Stuttgart goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, preserving a point for his team.
The bottom three teams in Germany are each facing road tests this weekend as they attempt to improve their survival hopes.
Last-place Braunschweig has lost back-to-back games and visits mid-table Hertha Berlin, while Nurnberg sits one point above Braunschweig and travels to Mainz with Nurnberg in the midst of a terrible run having lost eight of its last nine games.
Hamburg occupies the relegation playoff place and is one point better than Nurnberg ahead of the weekend. The team has lost three of its last four games and takes on eighth-place Augsburg.
At the other end of the table, champions Bayern Munich play host to Werder Bremen, while top-four sides Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen square off at the BayArena.
Dortmund enters the contest in second place, six points clear of third-place Schalke, while Leverkusen will be tested in its hopes of finishing in the top four as the club is one point clear of Wolfsburg for the final Champions League place.
Schalke hosts Monchengladbach in a battle of teams with European aspirations, Eintracht travels to Hoffenheim, while Wolfsburg hopes to keep pressure on Leverkusen with three points at home against Freiburg.
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