Markus Babbel has called on his Stuttgart side to reproduce their midweek performance against Rangers and beat Leverkusen.

While a 2-0 win at Rangers preserved Stuttgart's chances of reaching the last 16 of the Champions League, they have slipped into the bottom two of the Bundesliga and need a similar result at the BayArena tomorrow to move out of danger.

But after chalking up their first win in 11 games on Tuesday, Babbel is optimistic.

"I am looking forward to this game," he said.

"This is a challenge for us. The lads saw in Glasgow that they can still win and score goals.

"We now need this conviction against the league leaders.

"We need to show the same values we showed in Glasgow, where we ran a lot, were compact and created plenty of chances."

However, Babbel is aware his side, no matter how confident, are going to be up against it doing what nobody else has managed all season - beat Leverkusen.

"They are playing the best football in the league, in my opinion," he said.

"We know what we are up against."

Leverkusen may have been knocked off the top of the table by the time this game starts, but after successfully returning to the summit last Sunday with a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich, coach Jupp Heynckes wants to see the same spirit tomorrow.

"The lads know that they are always going to have to be at their best to stay up there," he said.

"We need another top performance on Sunday."

Germany international Serdar Tasci is set to make his comeback for Stuttgart after injury, but his compatriot Sami Khedira missed out injured while Zdravko Kuzmanovic is suspended.

Heynckes welcomes Gonzalo Castro back from injury into a first-choice side which is only now lacking the long-term injury casualty Patrick Helmes.