SV Darmstadt 98 - FC Heidenheim

All square between Darmstadt and Heidenheim at Bollenfalltor

TEAM NEWS

Rouven Sattelmaier, Max Grun and Selim Gunduz remain on the sidelines at Darmstadt through injury.

Heidenheim will be without the injured defender Sebastian Griesbeck.

Darmstadt

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Rouven Sattelmaier, Selim Gunduz (both knee); Max Grun (elbow)

Heidenheim

Suspended: None

Doubtful: None

Injured/unavailable: Sebastian Griesbeck (ankle joint)

MATCH PREVIEW

MAIN PREDICTION: DRAW

Dirk Schuster’s Darmstadt have been in patchy form of late, winning only one, drawing two and losing five of their last eight league matches. After claiming an excellent 2-1 win over St. Pauli at Bollenfalltor two weeks ago, they were dealt a setback in their most recent league outing as they fell to a 3-2 defeat away at struggling Duisburg. The Lilies are 14th in the table at present, with only six points separating them from the drop zone, and they could do with securing more points.

Heidenheim have been moving up the table in recent months thanks to a positive run of seven wins, five draws and only one loss in their last 13 league affairs. After crashing to a heavy 5-1 defeat against Paderborn at Voith Arena in late November, Heidenheim have won four and drawn two. They have started the new year with a 2-2 draw against Holstein Kiel and a 1-0 win over Dresden in league action, before beating top-flight side Leverkusen 2-1 in the third round of the German cup in midweek, with all three matches taking place on their own turf. On the road, they have been doing well too, with their last defeat dating back to late September.

Heidenheim have been hard to beat over the past two months, but Darmstadt have been decent at home losing only one of their last five home league matches along with three wins and one draw. Because of that, I can see the pair cancelling each other out – back the draw.

SECOND PREDICTION: HILO – LOW

Five of the last six league fixtures between the pair have finished all square, with four of those being 1-1 draws. I fancy this league match to end 1-1, too.

HEAD TO HEAD

Heidenheim have not claimed a win in this head-to-head since 2013 when the teams played in the third division. Since then, Darmstadt have won twice in league action while there have also been five draws.