Facts & Figures: The top facts about the Schalke Cup match

What a special evening at the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor. Second division Darmstadt 98 hosts Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach. It was in the fall of 2022 when the South Hesse side last played at home in the DFB-Pokal. In that encounter, the Lilies put the Bundesliga side under pressure early on, played with focus going forward, and rewarded themselves with a goal in the first half through Phillip Tietz. Gladbach, however, increased the pressure in the second half and managed to equalise at one point. But the Lilies were undeterred. And in the closing stages, they showed both morale and determination in front of the opposing goal. Aaron Seydel sent the Böllenfalltor into a frenzy with his decisive goal, making it 2-1. With this victory, SV Darmstadt 98 deservedly advanced to the round of 16 of the DFB-Pokal. Feel free to repeat that tomorrow, guys!

Only five players in the current SV 98 squad have ever played in a home cup game at the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor. Marcel Schuhen, Fabian Holland, Patric Pfeiffer, and Matthias Bader were in the starting lineup against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Alexander Brunst also watched the home win against the Foals from the bench.

SV Darmstadt 98 has had a successful start to the 2025/26 DFB-Pokal season. Last August, the Lilies won 2-1 at VfB Lübeck and comfortably advanced to the second round. Darmstadt controlled the game and took a 1-0 lead through Matej Maglica (34′). After the break, the Regionalliga side came out of the locker room with a more courageous performance – but the Lilies kept their composure and scored the decisive goal through Fraser Hornby (73′). Although Lübeck pulled one back in stoppage time, they were unable to threaten the Lilies again.

Schalke 04 cleared their first hurdle in the DFB Cup in Saxony. The Royal Blues won 1-0 at 1. FC Lokomotiv Leipzig. Despite the seemingly clear division of roles between the regional league and second division teams, the favourites from Gelsenkirchen struggled over the entire 90 minutes: The hosts defended fiercely, rarely missed any clear chances, and thus fought their way into extra time. It was only then that Schalke finally managed to score the decisive goal in the 107th minute through Bryan Lasme in what was, from the Royal Blues‘ perspective, a difficult cup match.

FC Schalke 04 looks back on a rich history in the DFB-Pokal (German Cup). The Royal Blues have won the coveted trophy five times – in 1937, 1972, 2001, 2002, and 2011. Schalke have reached the final a further seven times. Especially in the 2000s, Schalke was regularly among the title contenders in the competition. Their last major cup victory dates back to 2011, when Schalke, under coach Ralf Rangnick, triumphed with a decisive 5-0 victory against MSV Duisburg at Berlin’s Olympiastadion. Since the 2011/12 season, however, the Gelsenkirchen club has failed to reach the semifinals.

FC Schalke 04 has already visited the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor twice for a cup match. In December 2001, the two teams met in the round of 16 of the competition. The Lilies, then playing in the Regionalliga, forced the eventual cup winners into extra time. It took 117 minutes for Ebbe Sand to score the decisive goal to make it 1-0. The next meeting was in September 2013, when Schalke visited Bölle in the second round: While Hanno Behrens was able to cancel out Jefferson Farfan’s opening goal for Schalke, Benedikt Höwedes and Max Meyer sealed the victory in the second half – 1-3, the final score from Darmstadt’s perspective. This Wednesday, FC Schalke 04 will be visiting the Merck Stadium for the third time in the DFB Cup. And as the saying goes, all good things come in threes!

No one can beat us here! SV Darmstadt 98 is still unbeaten at the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor this season – with three home wins and two draws. The reason for this is not only the close cooperation between fans and team, but also SV 98’s strong defence. The South Hesse side has only conceded two goals this season, making them the best home defense in the competition. The Lilies have been undefeated at Böllenfalltor since the beginning of May. A streak that can hopefully continue on Wednesday evening in the DFB Cup!

Schalke 04 has shown a striking predilection this season: Schalke scores most goals in the first 30 minutes of a match. Eight goals have already been scored in this period – a league best. Particularly striking is the opening phase, from minutes 1 to 15, in which Schalke regularly poses early threats and has already scored five goals – this rate is also unmatched by any other second-division team. The Lilies should therefore be on guard, especially at the start of the match. After all, in their most recent clash, the only goal of the game was scored in the ninth minute. Incidentally, SV 98’s predilection is the period from the restart to the 75th minute – nine goals in this phase after the break is a league best.