Facts and Stats: The top facts about the Schalke game

For the second time this second-division season, the top two teams are facing off. This was the case on matchday 14, when FC Schalke 04 battled SC Paderborn and overtook SCP at the top of the table. However, it’s not just the top two teams in the league that are facing off, but also the best offence and the best defence. When SV Darmstadt 98 fans go to the stadium, they usually have something to cheer about: the ball has found the back of the net 48 times against the Lilies‘ opponents. On the other hand, Schalke regularly shut down their goal. Conceding only 23 goals is the best record in the league – which is also due to the fact that they have allowed the fewest shots on goal overall (246).

The two teams have already met twice this season, back in October. Schalke won the league match with a narrow 1-0 victory, inflicting one of Darmstadt’s only three defeats this season. Moussa Sylla, who scored the winning goal that day, has been more of a reserve player since the second half of the season, but could see more playing time due to Edin Dzeko’s suspension.

However, Darmstadt responded just a few days later in the DFB Cup round of 16. Playing at the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor, they dominated from the outset and advanced to the next round with a resounding 4-0 victory.

Saturday evening, Böllenfalltor. These two words surely make the heart of every Darmstadt 98 supporter swell with excitement. It’s already the fifth match of the season to kick off at the Merck Stadium at 8:30pm. Darmstadt have remained undefeated throughout. But it’s not just at this special time that they shine in front of their home crowd. Their last defeat on their own turf was on May 3, 2025, against HSV. This season, they’ve conceded only nine goals in their 13 home games so far and kept seven clean sheets. In the last five matches at the Bölle, Marcel Schuhen has only had to pick the ball out of his net once – in the game against Fortuna Düsseldorf.

One area where Darmstadt 98 often excels is set pieces. Their 15 goals from set pieces are an impressive tally. Only Paderborn and Bielefeld have scored more, with 16 goals each. Schalke 04 also seems to thrive in this statistic, having scored almost a third (38 percent) of their goals from set pieces.

Isac Lidberg, Darmstadt’s top scorer, now has 13 goals in the current second-division season and leads the scoring charts alongside Benjamin Källman (Hannover 96) and Marvin Wanitzek (Karlsruher SC). During the 1-0 defeat against Miron Muslic’s team, fans were eagerly anticipating a striker duel between Isac Lidberg and Moussa Sylla. However, this didn’t materialise due to the Swede’s injury last October.

Now, ahead of the return leg, many football fans were not only looking forward to the clash between the two teams, but also to a potential encounter between Edin Dzeko in Schalke’s attack and Isac Lidberg in the Darmstadt forward line. However, Dzeko’s red card suspension will prevent this as well. Nevertheless, Kenan Karaman, with eleven goals, is also near the top of the scoring charts, sitting in fifth place, and has a significant impact on Schalke’s attacking play.

Five of Kohfeldt’s players will go into Saturday evening’s top match with four yellow cards. Luca Marseiler, Fraser Hornby, Isac Lidberg, Merveille Papela, and Aleksandar Vukotic are at risk of suspension if they receive another yellow card.

For the visitors, Ron Schallenberg, Soufiane El-Faouzi, and Mertcan Ayhan will travel to Darmstadt with four yellow cards each.