SV Darmstadt 98 - Greuther Fürth

Relegated Darmstadt host a traditional 2.Bundesliga club

TEAM NEWS

Darmstadt have lost several important players in the form of Michael Esser, Marcel Heller, Mario Vrancic, Felix Platte, Jerome Gondorf and Hamit Altintop, but they were able to get some quality back into their squad with goalkeeper Joel Mall (Grasshoppers), midfielder Kevin Großkreutz (Stuttgart), midfielder Tobia Kempe (Nurnberg), midfielder Yannick Stark (FSV Frankfurt), forward Artur Sobiech (Hannover), midfielder Romuald Lacazette (1860 Munchen), midfielder Marvin Mehlem (Karlsruher SC) and forward McKinze Gaines (U-19 Wolfsburg).

Greuther Furth have seen Robert Zulj and Marcel Franke depart and have tried to compensate for the loss of their two important players by signing midfielder Nik Omladic (Braunschweig), defender Maximilian Wittek (1860 Munchen), forward Philipp Hofmann (Brentford), midfielder Manuel Torres (Karlsruher SC) and goalkeeper Timo Konigsmann (Hannover).

Darmstadt

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Patrick Banggaard (illness), Jan Rosenthal (knee)

Greuther Furth

Suspended: None

Doubtful: Maximilian Wittek (thigh)

Injured/unavailable: Richard Magyar (ankle), Sercan Sararer (groin), Philipp Hofmann (ligaments), Mathis Bolly (muscle)

MATCH PREVIEW

MAIN PREDICTION: HOME WIN

After one of the worst seasons in the club’s history Darmstadt are looking forward to better times and they are working hard to get a good squad together. However, it looks like that they have done their homework and they are more competitive this season. Coach Torsten Frings has done a good job and has the trust of all his players. He has a lot of options in all positions and this makes Darmstadt very unpredictable this season.

Greuther Furth on the other hand have added pace to their squad, which was evident in their pre-season friendlies. They are much more variable than last season and can use different systems, if needed. The only problem at the moment is their defence and they are a bit short of options as Richard Magyar is out, with midfielder Adam Pinter a candidate for the open position in central back, but it is far from ideal.

Furth suffer from too many problems defensively and that will make it difficult for them to beat Darmstadt. The hosts are better prepared than in previous seasons and should get the campaign off to a good start by clinching three points.

SECOND PREDICTION: HILO – HIGH (OVER 2.5 GOALS)

The statistics have been very even in Darmstadt’s last eight home matches, with four of the games ending with more than and four fewer than 2.5 goals. However, I expect both teams to push from the beginning and expect at least three goals here.

HEAD TO HEAD

Darmstadt’s all-time home record against Greuther Furth is five wins, one draw and two defeats, with 12 goals for and seven goals against.