Seven points from three matches and still undefeated: SV Darmstadt 98 are in good form at the start of the league season. The last time the Lilies experienced such a high-scoring start was in the 2017/18 season. Back then, under coach Torsten Frings, they even managed three wins and a draw from their first four matches. Whether the Lilies can repeat that haul at the start of the 2025/26 season will be decided next Sunday (August 31st, 1:30pm), when Darmstadt 98 travels to 1. FC Kaiserslautern. You can read about other interesting statistics from Matchday 4 of the 2nd Bundesliga in our Top Facts section.
The Betzenberg is considered 1. FC Kaiserslautern’s life insurance for a reason: The Palatinate club has earned 17 of its last 18 points at home across all seasons – including all three points this season. With a total of 23 home points in the 2025 calendar year, FCK also shares the league record with Karlsruher SC. For the Lilies, however, the Betzenberg has been a difficult place to be: in six attempts, they have yet to manage an away win in Kaiserslautern. Florian Kohfeldt’s team will do everything they can to finally break this streak on Sunday.
1. FC Kaiserslautern has struggled to score open play so far. Their only two goals have come from the penalty spot. All other second-division teams have scored at least once from open play.
Even after their home game against Hertha, SV Darmstadt 98 remained undefeated – like only Hannover 96 and Karlsruher SC have done this season. The last time the Lilies had such a good start was eight years ago under coach Torsten Frings. Back then, the Darmstadt team recorded two wins and a draw in the first three matchdays, as well as a 2-1 away victory at MSV Duisburg on the fourth matchday. Should this result be repeated next Sunday (August 31st) in Kaiserslautern, no Lilies fan would be likely to object…
After three matchdays, SV Darmstadt 98 boasts two league leaders: Isac Lidberg leads the scoring chart thanks to his hat trick against VfL Bochum. But a striker only shines when he also provides assists – and that’s where Fraser Hornby comes in. With two assists, he’s currently one of the league’s top providers, along with Laurin Curda and Rico Preißinger. Luca Marseiler will also be particularly motivated going into Sunday’s clash: He scored two of his three goals in the 2. Bundesliga against 1. FC Kaiserslautern – last season, he even scored in both games against the Red Devils.
The clash with 1. FC Kaiserslautern offers several special reunions for the Lilies. Two Red Devils have a history with SV Darmstadt 98. Perhaps the most prominent connection is Torsten Lieberknecht: The current FCK coach led the Lilies to the Bundesliga in the 2022/23 season, playing a key role in an unforgettable promotion. After 112 games as head coach, his tenure ended almost exactly a year ago. Frank Ronstadt will also face many familiar faces on Sunday. The 27-year-old defender made 44 competitive appearances for SV 98 – in the 2. Bundesliga, the Bundesliga, and the DFB-Pokal – before joining Kaiserslautern in January 2024.
Darmstadt also has a connection to their upcoming opponent: Paul Will remembers 1. FC Kaiserslautern from his youth days. Between 2015 and 2018, the native of Central Hesse wore the Red Devils‘ jersey and scored twelve goals and provided eight assists in 73 matches for the U17 and U19 teams. He then moved to FC Bayern Munich’s reserve team.
| Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals | |
| Home | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 17:7 |
| Away | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6:11 |
| Overall | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 23:18 |
Fabio Torsiello will also play for Alemannia Aachen next season. SV 98 is loaning the 21-year-old attacking player to the third-division club for another season. Aachen also has an option to sign him permanently.
SV 98 has secured an offensive boost. Noah Weißhaupt will wear the Lilies' jersey in the future. The 24-year-old is transferring from SC Freiburg to Darmstadt.
For organisational reasons, SV 98 is postponing the first team training session of its summer preparation to June 28th. The session was originally scheduled for June 27th at the SV Winterkasten grounds in the Odenwald region.
Darmstadt 98 will play their final pre-season friendly against English Championship side Portsmouth FC. The match will take place on August 1st at 2pm at the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor.
The season is currently suspended, and the start of the new second division season is still some time away. Nevertheless, attention is already turning to the upcoming season: Starting Friday (June 12th) at 12 noon, club members without a current season ticket can purchase their season ticket for the 2026/27 season. Tickets will be available both online and at the ticket office at the stadium.
With the sales of Fraser Hornby and Isac Lidberg, SV 98 has generated considerable transfer revenue. We spoke with President Markus Pfitzner about the right moment for such transfers and the balancing act between financial stability and sporting ambition.
This coming weekend (June 13th & 14th), the veterans team will be playing two matches. We'll give you all the details. We also celebrated two birthdays this week and have several events coming up. At the same time, we're keeping an eye on how our partner club, San Antonio FC, is doing. We've compiled all this and more for you in this edition of Lilies Across the Board.
SV Darmstadt 98 is looking for enthusiastic Lilies fans for the new FuFa volunteer team. As a volunteer, you'll support fans and the club around match days and be right in the thick of things in and around the stadium. You can find all the information here.
Browse, sell, and do good at the same time: On Sunday, July 12th, SV Darmstadt 98 is hosting its first Lilies flea market in the forecourt of the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor. With a focus on family, sustainability, and social cohesion, the event aims to give well-preserved items a second life.
Isac Lidberg is moving to the Bundesliga. SV 98 and Borussia Mönchengladbach have agreed on a transfer for the Swedish striker.
The pairings for the first round of the DFB Cup have been drawn: SV Darmstadt 98 will face FC Carl Zeiss Jena away from home. The draw took place on Saturday evening (June 6th) at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. Under the supervision of DFB Vice President Peter Frymuth, Referee of the Year 2026, Deniz Aytekin, who acted as the draw's host live on ARD, drew the match between Darmstadt and Jena.
From the warm opening ceremony to the awards ceremony: The German Football ID Championship in Darmstadt offered exciting games, many wonderful encounters and a well-deserved German champion in the Hesse selection, which also included players from the SV 98 ID team.