Runaway leaders Bayern Munich can take another step toward the Bundesliga title this weekend with a win at home over Schalke, chastened by Wednesday's 6-1 rout at home by Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Bayer Leverkusen hope to end an alarming slump against Mainz while Borussia Dortmund host improving Nuremberg and Werder Bremen clash with Hamburger SV for the Bundesliga's 100th northern derby.
Schalke need to get over Champions League humiliation quickly to avoid more at Bayern on Saturday.
Schalke general manager Horst Heldt believes Bayern are "maybe even a tick better" than Madrid and he called on his young side to take lessons from the club's heaviest ever defeat in Europe.
"We have no choice but to write off the game," Schalke midfielder Julian Draxler said.
"We have to get it out of our heads and prepare for the duel with Bayern."
Schalke's woe was compounded by injuries to attacking midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng and defender Sead Kolasinac.
Defending champions Bayern are well on the to wrapping up a 22nd Bundesliga title.
Pep Guardiola's men enjoy a 19-point lead over Leverkusen, are unbeaten in a league record 47 games and have only dropped points twice in 22 games so far this season.
No other side has had such an advantage at this stage in 51 seasons of the Bundesliga.
Bayern can theoretically seal the title on March 15, though the end of the month looks more likely.
Either way, Bayern look set to better last year's quickest ever title, won after 28 games on April 6, as well as a slew of other records.
At the other end of the league, Bremen host Hamburg on Saturday, with both sides fighting relegation.
Bremen have one win from 11 games to be just three points above Hamburg in the relegation playoff place.
Hamburg looked doomed after seven successive league losses but revived hopes under new coach Mirko Slomka last weekend with a 3-0 win over Dortmund.
"It will be a very special game," said Bremen coach Robin Dutt, who has to adjust for suspended defenders Felix Kroos and Luca Caldirola.
Slomka intends to build on last week's surprise win: "It's the result of hard work. We're not going to stop working now or relax any day."
Eintracht Frankfurt host Stuttgart for another relegation six-pointer on Sunday.
Stuttgart have lost seven in a row and coach Thomas Schneider is in danger of sharing his predecessor Bruno Labbadia's fate. Labbadia was fired after three league games.
"The trust is absolutely there," Stuttgart sports director Fredi Bobic insisted.
"It's essential to think from game to game, nothing else. The ultimate indicator is how the team presents itself."
