Bayern takes title fight to Darmstadt.

2024-09-23

In a bid to end their eighteen-game winless streak and stave off relegation, SV Darmstadt 98 welcome the formidable Bayern Munich, fresh off an 8-1 demolishing of Mainz, to Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor on Saturday at 15:30 [GMT+1].

Darmstadt 98

Relegation-threatened Darmstadt suffered back-to-back league defeats [DLDLL] after last weekend's 2-0 loss to Leipzig. They sit at the bottom of the table in 18th place with 13 points [2W, 7D, & 16L], hoping to put an unlikely end to an eighteen-game winless run [0W, 6D, 12L].

In this millennium, only two teams have had longer winless streaks within a single Bundesliga season: FC Kaiserslautern 2011–12 [21] and 1. FC Nürnberg 2018–19 [20]. With 13 points and a -36 goal difference, SV Darmstadt’s record is the second-worst at this stage of a Bundesliga season since the introduction of the 3-point rule.

In addition, Darmstadt have the worst defensive record in the competition, shipping 60 goals in 25 Bundesliga games, an average of 2.4 G/G. Since the beginning of the 1990s, only FC Schalke 2020-21 [66] and Greuther Fürth 2021-22 [64] have had more goals conceded after 25 games in a Bundesliga season.

Torsten Lieberknecht will surely have his worries, with Darmstadt staring down the barrel of an immediate return to Bundesliga 2 when Bayern, who have the best scoring average in the competition, come visiting. A 3—4—2—1 formation with Sebastian Polter in attack is expected for the weekend.

FC Bayern München

Bayern Munich will take their title fight to Darmstadt on Saturday, hoping to close in on runaway league leaders Bayer Leverkusen. They head into this fixture 10 points behind the league leaders after an 8-1 Harry Kane-inspired win over FSV Mainz.

It was the second time this Bundesliga season that the Bavarians scored eight goals in a game, the first being an 8-0 win in the reverse fixture against Darmstadt. Bayern, who have 57 points following last weekend’s emphatic victory, have won eight of their nine Bundesliga matches against SV Darmstadt, only failing to do so in a 1-1 draw in Munich in November 1978.

With the best attack in the competition, having scored 73 goals, onlookers could see another scoreline with 8+ goals. A 4-2-3-1 with Harry Kane, who bagged a hat-trick against Mainz, in attack is expected.

Kingsley Coman is expected back after the international break and is ruled out alongside three others. Thomas Tuchel could be without Alphonso Davies, despite the left-back denying he lost two front-row teeth, having received a boot to the face.