SV Darmstadt 1898 vs FC Augsburg Prediction: A cagey game to be played

At the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor on Saturday, Augsburg will play Darmstadt 98, a team currently in the relegation zone, in an attempt to keep themselves out of the Bundesliga. With their most recent league game, Augsburg ended a four-game losing run by defeating Freiburg 2-1 at home. With 26 points, they are now in 11th position. Der FCA is eight points behind sixth-place Eintracht Frankfurt for a position in the Conference League Qualifiers after 23 games played, having scored 33 goals and given up 41.

With three ties, eight defeats, and only one victory in 12 Bundesliga games this season, the hosts Darmstadt 98 will look to improve their recent dismal performance at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor. Since losing to RB Leipzig in October 2023, SV Darmstadt 98 has not won at home in nine games (Wins 0 Draws 2 Losses 7). Augsburg has two wins, three draws, and six losses from their league away games this season.

Darmstadt 98 has lost three and drew three of their last six league games. In contrast, Augsburg has gone six games with two wins, two draws, and two losses.

In their last match, Darmstadt and Werder Bremen were drawn 1-1 in Bundesliga 1. The attacking side of Darmstadt has not been playing well lately. Throughout their previous six games, their "goals for" total versus other teams is a meager 4. The total number of goals scored against Darmstadt in those matches is eight. To find out if that pattern continues in this game is all that has to be done. Darmstadt had not triumphed in their last nine league home games going into this matchup. What a bad run.

For Darmstadt manager Torsten Lieberknecht, Clemens Riedel (broken ankle), Braydon Manu (ankle injury), and Fraser Hornby (ankle injury) will be out.

Darmstadt will likely start the game in a 3-4-2-1 configuration, with Marcel Schuhen, Christoph Zimmermann, Klaus Gjasula, Christoph Klarer, Matthias Bader, Bartol Franjic, Fabian Holland, Emir Karic, Julian Justvan, Luca Pfeiffer, and Sebastian Polter starting the first half.

Augsburg enters the game fresh off a 2-1 Bundesliga 1 victory against Freiburg in their previous encounter. The numbers don't lie: in their previous six games, Augsburg has allowed goals in six of them, allowing opponents to score nine goals in total. Augsburg hasn't been too reliable at the back. Prior to this encounter, Augsburg had lost both of their previous away league games.

Augsburg manager Jess Thorup has multiple availability issues to deal with. Raphael Framberger (Cruciate ligament tear) and Reece Oxford (muscular problems) are names that won’t be on the team sheet. Mads Pedersen will not be able to play in this game through being suspended.

We reckon that Augsburg appears most likely to begin the game with a 4-3-1-2 formation, giving starts to Finn Dahmen, Kevin Mbabu, Maximilian Bauer, Felix Uduokhai, Iago, Arne Engels, Kristijan Jakic, Elvis Rexhbecaj, Ruben Vargas, Phillip Tietz and Ermedin Demirovic.

Darmstadt will be excited to take on Darmstadt on Saturday. Darmstadt has been a major disappointment this season and there is a possibility for relegation. However, the away form of Augsburg will encourage Darmstadt. Augsurg's ad away record suggests that Darmstadt's record of 15 games without a victory is likely to be broken.

It looks like there won't be much between Augsburg and Darmstadt in the end, and both clubs might end up scoring.