On Wednesday (October 29th/8:45pm), SV Darmstadt 98 will host FC Schalke 04. We have summarised the most important information from the pre-match press conference for you.
Personnel update: Fabian Nürnberger is still out. All other players are fit to play.
For me, games have no hierarchy or priority. Therefore, Isac’s absence from the league clash against Schalke wasn’t a precautionary measure. He didn’t get on the bus on Thursday because he simply wasn’t feeling well after the intense training. He then took a two-day break and trained individually. Now he’s feeling better. As of now, I expect him to be in the starting lineup on Wednesday. As for Kai, I decided to spare him the trip to Schalke because the three games combined would have been too much for him. However, Kai is an option for Wednesday—even for the starting lineup.
Paul Will was an absolutely positive presence in the Schalke game. He brought a lot of energy, especially in combination with Mey Papela. He also contributed football-wise. Nevertheless, he was out for 14 months, but he handled those 30 minutes very well. Therefore, a start in the starting lineup is certainly unlikely, but a similar or even longer appearance is possible.
Bartosz did his job defensively at Schalke. However, we couldn’t get him involved offensively. It seems difficult to judge him based on that. He still enjoys a very high standing with me and will certainly be someone who gets playing time tomorrow.
Generally, a home game at the Bölle stadium generates a great deal of anticipation. Wednesday’s game is a special one. It’s the first time in a while that the Lilies have played a cup home game – and at 8:45pm, it’s against a truly historic club. Two historic German clubs will be meeting in a 50-50 match. The league game already showed that. So, there are all the ingredients for a great cup night.
Additionally, the cup has enormous significance for me. I’m absolutely in love with this competition. We’ve had some really great cup games with the Lilies. We’re all highly motivated, incredibly excited, and want to put on a great cup fight with our fans—and that’s perhaps the difference from Friday—with lots of energy and deliver a really great cup battle, and then leave the game with a positive result. The cup is simply a great competition. And we want to advance.
Schalke will play very aggressively and actively here against us as well. In this respect, they’re not much different between home and away games. We, on the other hand, have to be more determined with the ball. We have to have more confidence in attacking the spaces we want to attack. We had a few breakthroughs against Schalke. But then we have to have the courage to push forward and dominate the game ourselves. We didn’t manage that with the ball against Schalke. But that’s our goal, no matter where we play.
Like Schalke, we watched the game closely. I didn’t think we were bad defensively. Schalke only had two chances in the game – one from a set piece and one from our goal kick. Almost nothing happened from open play. It’s still obvious that we didn’t create enough chances for our standards. Perhaps that had something to do with Isac’s absence, but not exclusively. It’s more to do with the way we attack. And we need to work on that. That’s our main focus for Wednesday’s game, without changing anything else.
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.