Schalke and Werder Bremen are both hoping to bounce back from poor opening performances as they prepare for the second round of the Bundesliga, but they do so in contrasting moods.
Bremen conceded four goals in the first half of a 4-1 defeat at Hoffenheim in week one, while Schalke finished with 10 men as it lost 2-1 at Hamburg.
But as Bremen heads into Saturday's home game against Cologne on a high after beating Sampdoria to reach the Champions League group stage, Schalke appears to be a club in turmoil as it prepares to host Hanover.
Fans have been voicing their unhappiness about the leadership of head coach Felix Magath, who recently caused controversy by sacking the club's supporter liaison officer.
And despite the high-profile signings of Raul and Christoph Metzelder, Schalke is still feverishly scouring the player market to solidify a suddenly-suspect defense and boost its offense, with Zvjezdan Misimovic of Wolfsburg strongly rumored to be a target.
German sports magazine Kicker reported that there "will not be a Magath resignation despite the turbulent times," while Magath himself insisted: "I am still having fun with the training work and continuing to restructure the team."
Bremen, meanwhile, is still a club trying to find itself after losing star playmaker Mesut Oezil to Real Madrid just before the first leg of its Champions League playoff, and seeing center back Naldo suffer a knee injury.
"We have to get used to the injuries and transfers of teammates," said Bremen defender Per Mertesacker. "We lost some important players and have new players in the team who have to find their way. This kind of process takes time.
"I have a feeling that other clubs are given more time to find themselves. Everyone expects great things from us right away. Still we reached the Champions League despite these circumstances."
With a spot in the Champions League secured and a second round German Cup showdown against Bayern Munich not taking place until the end of October, Bremen can now focus on the Bundesliga.
And if it needs inspiration, it only needs to recall the start of last season when it lost its opener at home against Eintracht Frankfurt before reeling off a 23-game unbeaten streak.
Also on Saturday, Wolfsburg hosts Mainz in a match which could see the Wolfsburg debut of Diego, who is close to signing with the 2009 league champions.
Saturday's bill includes early leader Hoffenheim traveling to St. Pauli, Eintracht Frankfurt welcoming Hamburg, and Nuremberg hosting Freiburg.
On Friday, defending Bundesliga and German Cup champion Bayern Munich looks for its second straight victory as it travels to promoted side Kaiserslautern, who celebrated its return to the topflight with a convincing 3-1 win over Cologne.
Sunday's standout match has Stuttgart taking on Borussia Dortmund, with both teams looking to recover from 2-0 defeat in their opening games.
While Stuttgart continues to deal with a major facelift of the team, Dortmund must rebound from defeat at home, which happened just three times last season.
