Darmstadt vs. Freiburg preview: Darmstadt face relegation, Freiburg dream of Europe
| Christian Streich. |
Darmstadt
Darmstadt lost 4-0 last weekend against Mainz, leaving them all but relegated with a nine point gap between them and the 05ers.
As well as this, Darmstadt have failed to win in the Bundesliga since early October when they managed back to back victories against Augsburg and Werder Bremen.
Adding to this, Darmstadt are the only team to have not registered a single win in a 2024. With both Köln and Mainz (the teams above them) having secured two and three victories this year.
Despite this, Darmstadt have scored a reasonable amount of goals this season, with twenty-eight goals in the Bundesliga which is more than Köln, Mainz and Union Berlin.
Striker Tim Skarke will be one to watch on Sunday, as he has scored eight in the league this campaign.
Marvin Mehlem is out with a broken leg and Fraser Hornby is missing with an ankle injury. Lastly, Fabian Nürnberger will miss Sunday's game with an ankle issue.
Freiburg
Freiburg were beaten 4-1 at home by RB Leipzig as the side from east Germany reclaimed fourth place in Germany's top flight.
Failure to win last weekend means Christian Streich has not won back to back Bundesliga games with Freiburg since December.
History dictates that Freiburg struggles against Darmstadt. In their last three outings against Darmstadt, they have only won once.
Currently ninth in the Bundesliga table, Freiburg are hunting down the seventh spot in order to qualify for next season's Conference League.
Vincenzo Grifo is still the club's top scorer this season with eight goals in the Bundesliga this season.
With a win, Christian Streich's side can draw level on points with Augsburg in seventh.
Lastly, ahead of the game against Darmstadt, Freiburg's Christian Streich said: “Darmstadt make mistakes every now and then, but they have scoring chances in every game they play."
Lucas Höler is suspended for Freiburg as he has accumulated five yellow cards. Also out, both Matthias Ginter and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh will be unavailable for Streich's side due to injury.
Finally, Kenneth Schmidt is suffering from an abdominal injury and both Philipp Lienhart and Noah Weißhaupt will be doubts for Sunday's away match.