2. Bundesliga Preview: SV Darmstadt vs. Fortuna Düsseldorf

Second-placed Darmstadt host Fortuna Düsseldorf in a marquee Saturday afternoon fixture of 2. Bundesliga.

Darmstadt will hope to continue their surge in the title race when they host Fortuna Düsseldorf on matchday 23 of 2. Bundesliga.

SV Darmstadt 98

Last week’s comeback draw away at Eintracht Braunschweig extended Darmstadt’s unbeaten run to 12 games, but they immediately gave away top spot to the team that inflicted the last defeat on Florian Kohfeldt’s side.

With four draws from the last six, consistency has been an issue at Darmstadt since the turn of the year. However, they’re the only undefeated team at home as they collect a league-high 27 points from 11 games.

Fortuna Düsseldorf

On the contrary, Darmstadt have only won three games on the road. The reverse fixture saw one of those wins with three unanswered second-half goals, which led to only a second victory over Düsseldorf in nine meetings.

Markus Anfang has since taken over the helm from Daniel Thioune, and he has now gone unbeaten in three successive games for the first time. They could still feel underachieving with the win over promotion hopefuls Paderborn followed by draws with direct rivals Karlsruhe and Preußen Münster.

Team News

Isac Lidberg and Fraser Hornby are expected to be fit for Saturday’s game after the necessary load management was taken by the club in training sessions. Meanwhile, Düsseldorf are hit by an infection bug in the squad as their two senior goalkeepers are on the list of players yet to get the all-clear.

Predicted Lineups

Darmstadt: Schuhen ©; Lopez, Pfeiffer, Maglica, Nürnberger; Akiyama, Richter; Klefisch, Marseiler; Lidberg, Hornby

Düsseldorf: Kastenmeier ©; Oberdorf, Egouli, Daland; Lunddal, Tanaka, El Azzouzi, Lenz; Appelkamp, Muslija; Itten