Two sides with contrasting Bundesliga ambitions will face off on Sunday, with relegation-favourites SV Darmstadt 98 taking on Freiburg at Merck-Stadion am Bollenfalltor.
The hosts look destined for the drop this season, currently languishing at the foot of the table, while the visitors are in ninth place and still in with a shot of Europa Conference League qualification.
Match preview
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With six games left in the season and 12 points separating them from safety, it will require a miraculous turn of events for Darmstadt to find a way to avoid returning to the second division this term.
The Lilies have been exceptionally poor this season, managing just two wins in 28 league matches, eight draws and 18 losses. They have also conceded a whopping 71 goals to date, 17 more than any other side in the division.
In a match with major ramifications for the 2023-24 Bundesliga relegation race, Torsten Lieberknecht's side suffered a demoralising 4-0 away loss to 16th-placed Mainz 05 last week, marking the fifth consecutive league match that the side had conceded two or more goals in a game.
That defeat also took Darmstadt to 21 league games without a victory, including seven draws and 14 losses - the club's longest-ever losing streak in the top flight and the joint-highest of any team since 2000.
In addition, their 14-point tally is the fewest they have had at this stage of a Bundesliga season, and only one team has ever recorded fewer after 28 games. That unwanted record belongs to Schalke, who had only managed 13 points back in the 2020-21 campaign.
The hosts have only taken six points from 14 matches at home this season, and while they held this opponent to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture, it is difficult to get excited about their chances in this one.
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Meanwhile, Freiburg have struggled for consistency this season but are still in the running for a Conference League qualification spot, currently tied on 36 points with Augsburg and Hoffenheim and six points behind sixth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Breisgau-Brasilianer slipped a spot to ninth in the league standings last weekend, slumping to a 4-1 defeat against top-four contenders RB Leipzig, which was their fifth consecutive home loss in succession.
Against the Red Bulls, Christian Streich's side were clearly outclassed from the first whistle and found themselves a goal down inside the first two minutes of the match. It was all downhill from then on as Leipzig added a further three before Vincenzo Grifo scored what turned out to be nothing more than a mere consolation just before the hour mark.
Despite that setback, Freiburg will enter this match with confidence, as they have only lost one of their last eight matches in all competitions against this opponent (W4 D3 L1), and that was in the 2016-17 season.
With Augsburg playing Union Berlin and Hoffenheim taking on Mainz this weekend, the visitors will know that they have the best fixture of gameweek 29 and will be targeting nothing less than three points here, which will also bring up their third consecutive away victory following wins over Bochum and Borussia Monchengladbach.
Team News
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Darmstadt have missed the services of their midfield duo Fabian Nurnberger and Marvin Mehlem, who have been sidelined with an ankle and broken leg respectively, and both are expected to remain out for the foreseeable future.
Fraser Hornby has only featured once this season for the Lilies and is out for the remainder of the season with an ankle injury, while Fabio Torsiello is still recovering from a muscle strain but could return to the first team for next week's crucial clash against second-bottom Koln.
Freiburg will have to make do without the services of Lucas Holer, who was shown his fifth caution of the season against Leipzig and will be forced to serve a one-match ban this weekend.
In terms of injuries, the visitors will be missing Matthias Ginter, Kenneth Schmidt, Noah Weisshaupt and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh, while the availability of Roland Sallai and Philipp Lienhart is doubtful.
SV Darmstadt 98 possible starting lineup:
Schuhen; Bader, Riedel, Klarer, Karic; Justvan, Franjic, Hollan, Honsak; Vilhelmsson, Seydel
Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Atubolu; Kubler, Sildillia, Gulde, Gunter; Doan, Eggestein, Hofler, Grifo; Sallai, Gregoritsch
We say: SV Darmstadt 98 1-2 Freiburg
While Freiburg have been inconsistent this season, they have done well against sides in the bottom half of the table and will feel that this is a match from which they should take all three points. With just two wins all season, it is difficult to make much of a case for Darmstadt here, and we feel that they will suffer their 19th loss of the campaign in this match.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
