SV Darmstadt 98 will be aiming to bounce back from successive defeats when they host VfL Bochum in the Bundesliga on Friday night.
The visitors remain winless from their opening nine matches, but drawing five times means that they will head into this contest outside of the automatic relegation zone.
Match preview
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Darmstadt, meanwhile, will need to dust themselves off after receiving an 8-0 thrashing at the hands of the reigning champions Bayern Munich last weekend. While the majority of German teams have been soundly beaten by Bayern over the years, the fact that the Bavarians were reduced to 10 men after only four minutes made the scoreline a little more concerning.
Indeed, Joshua Kimmich was given his marching orders for a professional foul on Marvin Mehlem, but during a wild first half, Darmstadt proceeded to cede their advantage when Klaus Gjasula and Matej Maglica were also both sent off for similar offences.
With the script flipped and Thomas Tuchel's side now having the one-man advantage, all eight of Bayern's goals came after the break, including England striker Harry Kane scoring from within his own half on the way to claiming the match ball. In total, Bayern generated 16 shots on target, suggesting that Darmstadt must tighten up having already conceded 30 league goals.
Head coach Torsten Lieberknecht will be hoping that process could begin against goal-shy Bochum, who only FC Koln have scored fewer goals than so far this season. Friday night's encounter could prove to be a pivotal one in terms of shaping the complexion at the bottom of the table.
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Bochum know all about successfully navigating their way out of trouble, though, having done so in each of their two seasons in the Bundesliga since gaining promotion from the second tier in 2021.
Die Unabsteigbaren appeared set to finally end their winless start to the season when leading rock-bottom Mainz 05 last Friday, but Tom Krauss's 96th-minute strike salvaged a point for the visitors, who stayed within two points of their opponents in the process.
After starting last season without winning any of their opening eight games, which led to Thomas Letsch being appointed in September 2022, that draw means that Bochum have now gone one beyond that streak. The good news is they actually have one more point, having only tasted defeat on four occasions this time around.
However, Letsch and his players will be acutely aware that victories are required in order to make positive movement up the table, and they will not have many better opportunities than facing newly-promoted Darmstadt to put three points on the board.
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Darmstadt will be without Maglica and Gjasula due to suspension following their dismissals against Bayern, with Thomas Isherwood and former Norwich City defender Christoph Zimmermann likely to replace them at the back.
Fabian Holland, Fabio Torsiello and Aaron Seydel all remain sidelined by muscle injuries, with Christoph Klarer also doubtful after coming off with a minor knock during his side's heavy defeat to Bayern.
Bochum, meanwhile, lost Ivan Ordets to a serious hip injury against Mainz, which is likely to keep the Ukraine defender out for several weeks. Erhan Masovic appears to be the leading candidate to replace him.
Jordi Osei-Tutu, Keven Schlotterbeck, Patrick Osterhage, Matus Bero, Michael Esser, Lys Mousset and Mohammed Tolba are all expected to miss out on Friday's trip due to a lengthy injury list for the visitors, reducing Letsch's ability to make changes in search of his side's first win.
SV Darmstadt 98 possible starting lineup:
Schuhen; Isherwood, Zimmermann, Karic; Bader, Kempe, Franjic, Nurnberger; Mehlem; Pfeiffer, Skarke
VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:
Riemann; Gamboa, Masovic, Bernardo, Danilo; Losilla, Stoger; Asano, Forster, Antwi-Adjei; Paciencia
We say: SV Darmstadt 98 2-2 VfL Bochum
Both sides are missing several key defenders through injury and suspension, which could help continue the trend of plenty of goals being scored in Darmstadt's matches.
Bochum will be desperate to claim their first victory of the season, but we believe that they may have to settle for another point.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
