BERLIN - Germany striker Max Kruse netted twice in Wolfsburg's 6-0 rout of Werder Bremen in the German league on Saturday to warm-up for Wednesday's key Champions League clash in Moscow.
Wolfsburg's striker Max Kruse celebrates after scoring during the German first division Bundesliga football match VfL Wolfsburg vs Werder Bremen in Wolfsburg, northern Germany, on November 21, 2015
In Europe, Wolfsburg are third in Group B, but just a point behind leaders Manchester United ahead of their penultimate group game at bottom side CSKA Moscow in the Russian capital on Wednesday.
The Germans still have every chance of qualifying for the knock-out stages and consolidated third in the German league table by hammering Bremen.
There was a minute's silence at all Bundesliga grounds this weekend -- the players also wore black armbands -- out of respect for the victims of the Paris terror attacks.
Stuttgart's 4-0 thumping at home to Augsburg was delayed by 15 minutes due to the tightened security checks at stadiums across the country.
There were no such problems at Wolfsburg's Volkswagen Arena as Bremen gifted their hosts the opener when defender Alejandro Galvez slid the ball into his own net on 11 minutes.
Kruse put Wolfsburg 2-0 up at the break by heading home a free-kick then Portugal international Vierinha scored from the right wing on 56 minutes.
The floodgates opened when French defensive midfielder, on for the injured Brazil star Luiz Gustavo, stabbed home his shot on 67 minutes.
Kruse then set up Netherlands striker Bas Dost on 78 minutes before completing the scoring three minutes from time by converting a cross from Germany team-mate Andre Schuerrle to leave him with five league goals for the season.
The result leaves Wolfsburg five points behind second-placed Borussia Dortmund who lost 3-1 at Hamburg on Friday night, while leaders Bayern Munich play at Schalke on Saturday evening.
Ex-Manchester United star Javier Hernandez now has 12 goals for Bayer Leverkusen in all competitions after scoring twice in their 3-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Christmas came early for 'Chicharito' in Frankfurt when Eintracht centre-back David Abraham allowed a cross to roll between his legs and the grateful Hernandez stabbed home on 11 minutes.
The Mexico striker doubled his tally on 39 minutes when a Hakan Calhanoglu pass split the Frankfurt defence.
Hernandez did the rest, but it finished 2-1 at the break when Serbian midfielder Slobodan Medojevic slammed in a powerful header on the stroke of half-time.
Calhanoglu made sure of the three points by scoring Leverkusen's third on 72 minutes.
Augsburg climbed off the bottom of the table with an emphatic 4-0 win at VfB Stuttgart.
Woeful defending by the hosts allowed Augsburg to race into an early 2-0 lead with both goals by midfielder Alexander Esswein.
Defender Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker grabbed a third before former South Korea captain Koo Ja-Cheol scored Augsburg's fourth when he hit the top right-hand corner from 10 metres out on 54 minutes.
The Rhine derby finished goalless as Mainz drew at Cologne as the hosts abandoned plans to play in a special-edition carnival-themed shirt out of respect for those who died in Paris.