Schalke held on for a 0-0 draw at Eintracht Frankfurt despite failing to create a chance in the second half, while Hannover moved up to third by beating Cologne 2-1 in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Hannover struggled to avoid relegation last season but has been one of the success stories so far this season.
In other games, Werder Bremen won 4-1 in Moenchengladbach, Freiburg edged Kaiserlsautern 2-1 and Nuremberg beat Wolfsburg 2-1.
Leaders Borussia Dortmund and Mainz play their games on Sunday.
Dortmund hosts Hoffenheim, while Mainz visits Bayer Leverkusen. Both Dortmund and Mainz have 21 points. Hannover has 16.
Bayern Munich drew 0-0 in Hamburg on Friday.
The draw in Frankfurt allowed Schalke to move up one place but Felix Magath's team, last season's runner-up to Bayern, was still only 15th in the standings.
Schalke beat Hapoel 3-1 in the Champions League on Wednesday but was outshot 10-0 by Eintracht in the second half.
Eintracht goalkeeper Oka Nikolov foiled Raul Gonzalez in the first half and Marco Russ headed just wide after a corner for Eintracht early in the second half.
Alexander Meier sent a low shot into the corner but Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer dived and turned the ball away in the 65th. Eintracht nearly took the lead shortly afterward but Halil Altintop shot over an empty net.
Fanis Gekas missed another good chance with 10 minutes remaining and then Benjamin Koehler shot high to waste the final chance of the match and spoil his team's hopes of beating Schalke after five straight defeats in the Bundesliga.
"We were even in the first half but we came under strong pressure in the second," Magath said.
Coach Zvonimir Soldo could be heading for an early exit in Cologne after his team's sixth defeat of the season left the club next to last.
Didier Ya Konan scored twice for Hannover early in the second half, while Martin Lanig's goal in the 86th gave Cologne some brief hope.
Claudio Pizarro struck Werder's fourth goal in Moenchengladbach, to move past Giovane Elber as the topscoring foreigner in Bundesliga history with 134 goals.
Werder's other goals came from Marko Marin, Wesley and Aaron Hunt. Moenchengladbach's only goal was the also the work of a Werder player, with Per Mertesacker inadvertently hitting his own net. Moenchengladbach was now winless in six games.
Striker Papiss Demba Cisse scored his league-high eighth goal of the season to help Freiburg send Kaiserslautern to its fifth straight defeat.
Jan Moravek gave Kaiserslautern an early lead but Cisse tied the game and Stefan Reisinger sealed Freiburg's win three minutes after coming off the bench in the second half.
Nuremberg notched its third straight home win against Wolfsburg with a strong performance in the second half. Ilkay Guendogan scored for Nuremberg and then set up Mike Frantz's winning goal in the 63rd. Grafite's sixth goal of the season tied the score in the first half.
