What gives hope for the first Lilien victory in this second division season? What memories does SV Darmstadt 98 have of the encounters with FCN? And what makes 1. FC Nürnberg currently strong? You can find the answers to these and other questions in our Top Facts. Before the ball rolls at the Böllenfalltor in the Merck Stadium next Sunday (August 25th/1:30pm), we will provide you with the most important facts and figures about the game.
0-2 against Fortuna Düsseldorf, 1-3 against SC Paderborn. The Lilies started the new 2024/25 season with two defeats. For only the fourth time after 1976, 1991 and 2021, SV 98 is left without a point after two match days. Now for the big but! The Darmstadt team has always scored points in the third second division game of a season at the latest. So there are good signs for the duel with 1. FC Nürnberg!?
Long-running favorite. Passing machine. Fair man. This all applies to Clemens Riedel. The Lily with the number 38 has been used in all of SV 98’s competitive games so far and hasn’t missed a minute. The defender also played the most passes of all Lilies in the 2nd Bundesliga – 104 in total. His pass rate of 88.48 percent is also impressive. Only Kai Klefisch is better in this statistic, he has a pass rate of 90.36 percent. But that’s not all, Riedel has so far managed without a foul in the second division.
… the Lilies are looking forward to the 2024/25 second division season and especially to the two clashes with FCN. SV Darmstadt 98 won both the first and second leg – and without conceding a goal. The South Hesse team won 2-0 in the Merck Stadium at Böllenfalltor in September 2022, and the Lilies also won 1-0 in Nuremberg in March 2023. A 2-0 win in the home game? That seems to be SV 98’s favorite result against the club anyway. In the last two duels at the Böllenfalltor, the Darmstadt team won against the Franconians with exactly this result.
This is 1. FC Nürnberg in the current season. The club scored a total of five second division goals on the first two matchdays – only Schalke (6) has more. No other team was more efficient. Nürnberg only needed an average of five shots on goal to score. Particularly interesting: All five goals were scored by five different goalscorers. Only FCN can boast such variability in the current season. If you add the DFB Cup, the Nuremberg team even scored six goals from six different players. In addition, the Franconian midfield is particularly dangerous – four of the five league goals were scored by midfielders.
1. FC Nürnberg has three of them in its squad. The Darmstadt memories of Julian Justvan, whom the Franconians only signed this week, are very fresh. The attacking midfielder was loaned from TSG Hoffenheim to SV 98 for six months in the second half of the season and played 14 competitive games for the 98s – two goals, two assists. Benjamin Goller was once also active on loan for six months at Böllenfalltor from July 2021 to January 2022. The 25-year-old made twelve appearances – two goals, one assist. Meanwhile, Christian Mathenia played the most games in the Lilies jersey. The goalkeeper played between the posts for SVD in a total of 71 games from 2014 to 2016.
This is Fabian Nürnberger. The 25-year-old wore the Franconian jersey from 2018 to 2023 – first in the second team, then for the professional team. For the latter, Nuremberg played a total of 108 competitive games, in which he scored nine goals and six assists. Tobias Kempe also has a past with the club. The veteran was active for FCN in the 2016/17 season and played 28 games, including four goals and four assists.
| Games | Wins | Draws | Defeats | Goals | |
| Home | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 30:25 |
| Away | 16 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 24:29 |
| Overall | 33 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 54:54 |
Attention Lilien fans: During SV Darmstadt 98’s training camp in Bad Wörishofen (Allgäu region)—taking place from July 19th to July 26th, 2026—there will once again be an opportunity to meet the team, chat with the players, and, of course, get autographs and photos. The fan meet-up is scheduled for Saturday, July 25th, following the friendly match against SG Sonnenhof Großaspach. Kick-off for the match is at 12pm.
SV 98 remains active in the transfer market. The "Lilies" have signed Christopher Lannert from Arminia Bielefeld.
Friendly matches, fundraising campaigns, and plenty of photos—that’s what the week looked like for SV 98 and the club’s community. Between their 5–1 victory over FC Homburg and the upcoming friendly in Walldorf this Friday (July 17), the „Lilies“ showed their best side for the cameras. In addition, the SV 98 legends team will face an Odenwald select squad on Sunday (July 19th). You can also win great prizes in competitions taking place in Erbach and at the pop-up store in downtown Darmstadt. Lilies Across the Board brings you all the latest news from life at SV 98.
The Bundesliga finalised the match schedules for matchdays three through six on Wednesday (July 15th): Darmstadt's home game against Hannover 96 on matchday three will take place on Sunday. This will be followed by their away game against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday at 1pm. The home game against Arminia Bielefeld on Friday evening and the away game in Wolfsburg, also on Friday evening, have also been confirmed.
The Lilies can welcome another new arrival at the Böllenfalltor: Florian Kleinhansl will now wear the SV 98 jersey. The 25-year-old joins on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with 1. FC Kaiserslautern on June 30th.
Third test, third clear victory. SV 98 won the match against FC 08 Homburg 5-1 (3-0).
SV Darmstadt 98 and the fusion energy company Focused Energy are entering into an official partnership. The aim of the collaboration is to more closely link top-level football and high technology from the Darmstadt region and to jointly generate momentum for innovation and future societal issues.
Killian Corredor will be playing in his home country again in the future. SV 98 has reached an agreement with FC Nantes on the transfer of the Frenchman.
On Tuesday (July 14, 6pm), SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Regionalliga side FC Homburg and asks fans to take note of the following information.
A home game against KSV! SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Holstein Kiel for the opening matchday of the 2. Bundesliga season this Saturday (August 8 at 1pm). Here’s how you can be there: the member pre-sale for the new season's first home game begins this coming Wednesday (July 15) at 12pm —available online and at the ticket shop at the Merck-Stadion, as usual. You can find all further details in this announcement.
For every home goal scored by the "Lilies," SV Darmstadt 98 fans were doubly rewarded during the recent 2025/26 second-division season. Beyond the joy and excitement, supporters received 98 litres of Krombacher Pils for every goal Darmstadt scored at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
In recent days, various media outlets have published reports and graphics regarding the distribution of TV revenue for the 2026/27 season. Some of these reports included not only specific figures but also a comparison to the previous season. This comparison indicates a supposed revenue increase of €1.4 million for SV 98 compared to the 2025/26 season.