Last year's runners-up will be gunning for their first league title in 50 years, but once again they seem likely to come up short. They've lost two key midfielders in Hamit Altintop and Lincoln, and their replacements are unproven.

Schalke hasn't gotten worse, but it's hard to see how they've gotten any better. And that's not good news for a team that won a lot of games last season but didn't exactly blow opponents away. To succeed, they need hot-and-cold striker Kevin Kuranyi to stay on form, Hamit's twin brother Halil Altintop to start finding the range again, and former German national Gerald Asamoah to show he's fully back from injury.

Commercial manager Andreas Müller said he believes in a team that proved its character on and off the pitch. But more than likely it will be rivals Dortmund who are laughing at the end of the season, as Schalke completes a half-century without winning that coveted title.

Coach: Mirko Slomka

Acquisitions: Jermaine Jones (Frankfurt), Matthias Schober (Hansa Rostock), Mimoun Azaouagh (Mainz, returns from loan), Michael Delura (Borussia Mönchengladbach, returns from loan), Mathias Abel (Hamburg, returns from loan), Heiko Westermann (Arminia Bielefeld), Benedikt Höwedes (Schalke amateurs), Ivan Rakitic (Basel)

Departures: Hamit Altintop (Bayern Munich), Dennis Lamczyk (Hessen Kassel), Christian Erwig (Fortuna Düsseldorf), Tim Hoogland (Mainz), Lincoln (Galatasaray Istanbul), Michael Delura (Panionios)