Facts & Figures: The top facts about the KSC game

SV Darmstadt 98 is proving difficult to beat this season in the second division. The Lilies are even undefeated at home so far. The last time the team from southern Hesse left their own stadium without any points was on May 3rd. Darmstadt has the fewest losses in the league overall. The two defeats suffered so far came against the league’s strongest home teams: FC Schalke 04 and 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

Although Darmstadt have already scored 23 goals, they are plagued by bad luck in front of goal. The ball has hit the woodwork eleven times already. This misfortune has been particularly evident in the last four matches: they have hit the woodwork six times – the most in the entire league.

Karlsruher SC is most successful when Fabian Schleusener is on target. From matchday eight to eleven, the striker scored four goals in a row. This season, he has a total of six goals and two assists. In the matches where the Karlsruhe striker was involved in a goal, KSC earned 16 points from seven games. Conversely, when the striker failed to score, they only managed five points in the same number of matches.

KSC has failed to pick up any points from their last three matches – Schleusener hasn’t registered a single goal or assist. Darmstadt, however, will need to keep a close eye on him: he has already scored six goals against Darmstadt in the 2. Bundesliga – more than against any other opponent.

SV Darmstadt 98 is known for its strength at set pieces, both defensively and offensively, but also regularly demonstrates its quality in open play. Of their 23 goals so far, the Lilies have scored 17 from open play. Elversberg leads this statistic with 21 goals, while Darmstadt currently sits in fourth place.

Despite their quality on the pitch, the focus is equally on defence. Marcel Schuhen has only had to pick the ball out of his net 13 times so far – only Schalke and Hertha have conceded fewer goals. One reason for this strong record is their stability at set pieces: Darmstadt have only conceded three goals from dead-ball situations. Furthermore, the Lilies have yet to concede a goal on the counter-attack.

Both Darmstadt and Karlsruher SC have generally displayed fair play on the pitch. While Darmstadt has committed 176 fouls, placing them eighth in this statistic, they have received only 21 yellow cards – the lowest number in the league. Many of these fouls were committed without any hard tackles. Furthermore, Karlsruher SC has yet to receive a red card this season.