SV Darmstadt vs. Dynamo DresdenLeague leaders Darmstadt head into the weekend riding a strong wave of momentum, having lost just once in their last five matches. Florian Kohfeldt’s side have surpass...
SV Darmstadt vs. Dynamo Dresden
League leaders Darmstadt head into the weekend riding a strong wave of momentum, having lost just once in their last five matches. Florian Kohfeldt’s side have surpassed early-season expectations, and striker Isac Lidberg has been central to that success. The Swede is in blistering form with six goals from his first six games, making him joint-top scorer in the division.
Last weekend, Darmstadt cruised to victory away at Fortuna Düsseldorf, scoring three times in a ruthless nine-minute spell in the second half. Though they had to wait until after the break to make the breakthrough, Die Lilien looked dominant from the outset, suffocating their opponents and limiting Düsseldorf to just one shot on target. Kohfeldt hailed the performance afterwards, describing the second half as “the best half of the season.”
Dynamo Dresden also arrive with reason for optimism. Despite sitting in 14th place, Thomas Stamm’s men showed great resilience to claim a point at home to high-flying Hannover, holding out for 36 minutes with ten men.
After back-to-back 2-2 draws against two of the league’s early contenders, Dresden will be eager to turn that momentum into victories and climb away from the danger zone. However, their task in Hesse is a daunting one. Darmstadt have scored six goals across their three home fixtures so far, while Dresden have shipped the same number on their travels. A more solid defensive display will be essential if they are to come away with anything.
History is also against the visitors. Dresden haven’t beaten Darmstadt since 2018 and have never won at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfaltor. Their most recent meeting came in last season’s DFB-Pokal, where Darmstadt edged a 3-2 win after extra time.
Team news: SV Darmstadt: There are no fresh injury concerns from last week’s fixture. Matthias Bader and Paul Will are still unavailable for the home side.
Dynamo Dresden: Vinko Šapina will miss out after his red card picked up against Hannover. Alexander Rossipal and Jacob Zickler remain absent.
Predicted lineups:
SV Darmstadt (4-2-3-1): Schuhen (GK) - López, Pfeiffer, Vukotic, Nürnberger - Klefisch, Akiyama - Richter, Hornby, Corredor - Lidberg
Dynamo Dresden (4-3-3): Schreiber (GK) - Faber, Pauli, Boeder, Risch - Casar, Hermann, Hauptmann - Fröling, Daferner, Lemmer
Schalke 04 vs. Greuther Fürth
Schalke enter matchday seven sitting fifth in the table with 12 points from their opening six games, losing just twice in that span. While few tipped them as promotion candidates before the season, Miron Muslic’s side are starting to spark belief among fans.
Last weekend, Die Königsblauen secured a comfortable 2-0 win away at Magdeburg thanks to a brace from captain Kenan Karaman. With the chance to go top - at least temporarily - on Friday, Muslic praised his team’s mentality: “I once again addressed the self-confidence we have as a collective, as well as the hunger and greed. We have both feet on the ground. This is a combination that is very good for Schalke.”
Greuther Fürth, meanwhile, are quietly exceeding expectations. Sitting 10th with nine points, Thomas Kleine’s side have three wins from six matches, a return most supporters would have gladly accepted at the start of the campaign. However, poor defeats to Braunschweig and Kiel have shown the side’s vulnerabilities.
Die Kleeblätter bounced back superbly last weekend, producing a textbook away performance to beat in-form Arminia Bielefeld 3-1. Compact without the ball and clinical in attack, Fürth struck at the right moments to secure a statement win. Kleine was quick to applaud the entire squad: “We wanted to give Bielefeld the ball, but when we had it, we were consistently aggressive and dangerous going forward. The praise goes to all the players today, not just those who started, but also those who came on and those who didn’t.”
The visitors also have history on their side. Fürth are unbeaten in their last five meetings with Schalke, taking four points from two encounters last season - including a thrilling 4-3 win at the Veltins-Arena. They will hope to draw inspiration from that performance once again.
Team news:
Schalke 04: Timo Becker’s status for the game is uncertain after picking up a knock to his pelvis in the previous game. Peter Remmert, Max Grüger, Emil Højlund, Zaid Tchibara and Tomas Kalas are all still working to recover from their injuries.
Greuther Fürth: Maximilian Dietz, Nils Körber, Timo Schlieck and Sacha Bansé are all still unavailable for Fürth. Noah König is available again after serving his one game suspension.
Predicted lineups:
Schalke 04 (3-4-2-1): Karius (GK) - Ayhan, Katic, Kurucay - Gantenbein, El-Faouzi, Schallenberg, V.Becker - Gomis, Karaman - Sylla
Greuther Fürth (4-2-3-1): Boevink (GK) - Dehm, Ziereis, König, Itter - John, Olsen - Klaus, Hrgota, Keller - Futkeu
Category: General Sports
