Darmstadt vs Borussia Dortmund: Prediction & Betting Tips

The Merck-Stadion am Bollenfalltor hosts Darmstadt and Borussia Dortmund this Saturday in a big clash for opposite ends of the Bundesliga table. Dortmund needs the three-point haul to get themselves back in the running for the Champions League spots, whereas Darmstadt needs a win to get themselves out of the relegation zone.

• Borussia Dortmund to win @ 1/2 on William Hill
• Under 1.5 goals @ 11/2 on Paddy Power
• Only one team to score @ 11/8 on William Hill

These odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.

Date: 13/01/2024

Kick-off time: 17:30

Location: Merck-Stadion am Bollenfalltor

Both Darmstadt and Borussia Dortmund have had a tough time so far this campaign, with both outside of expectations. Darmstadt are deep in the midst of a relegation battle and Dortmund find themselves outside the spots for Europe’s premier competition, the Champions League.

Darmstadt currently sit 18th and rock bottom of the Bundesliga after 16 games. The Lilies have two wins, four draws and ten losses, leaving them on just ten points, three points away from Union Berlin, who do have a game in hand.

The Lilies have a middling attack, ranked 13th in the league for goals scored, with 20 goals and an average of one goal a game. However, Darmstadt are ranked the worst defensively in the Bundesliga, with 41 goals conceded and an average of two goals conceded a game.

Borussia Dortmund, on the other hand, sit fifth in the Bundesliga. In 16 games, Dortmund have seven wins, six draws and three losses which leaves them on 27 points, already 15 points behind top-of-the-league Leverkusen and six points from Champions League football.

Dortmund are faltering in the attack, ranked seventh for goals scored with just 30 so far and averaging only one goal a game. Defensively, Dortmund are middle of the pack as well, with 25 goals conceded already.

Darmstadt and Dortmund have only met four times in their histories, with the first meeting coming as recently as 2015. Dortmund have a marginally better record with two wins in comparison to Darmstadt’s one win, with the other game ending in a draw.

The last time out between the two teams was a 2 - 1 win for Darmstadt, but Dortmund registered the biggest win in the fixture with a 6 - 0 win in 2016.

Darmstadt Team News

Torsten Liberknecht has a couple of injuries to manage coming into this weekend. Braydon Manu, Christoph Zimmerman and Marvin Mehlem have all been out since November and December and have no known return date yet.

Borussia Dortmund Team News

Edin Terzic also has a couple of injuries to manage. Julien Duranville is still unavailable, along with Julian Ryerson and Karim Adeyemi. However, Terzic will also be without Sebastian Haller as he has been called up by the Ivory Coast for the African Cup of Nations.

Darmstadt

In their last five games in all competitions, Darmstadt have two draws and three losses.

Mathias Honsak opened the scoring for Darmstadt but Lucas Holer equalised before halftime. Neither team could find the back of the net before full time as the game ended 1 - 1.

The clash between Darmstadt and Koln was relatively even with The Lilies having 45% of the possession and 11 shots in comparison to Koln’s 12 shots, though of Koln’s shots, six of them were on target in comparison to Darmstadt’s two. However, Davie Selke’s goal in the 60th minute was the only goal of the game and gave Koln the 1 - 0 win.

Darmstadt managed to get on the scoresheet next time out against Heidenheim. Jan Schoppner put Heidenheim in the lead just before halftime, but Tim Skarke drew Darmstadt level just after halftime. An own goal from Lennard Maloney gave Darmstadt the lead, but a brace from Patrick Mainka gave Heindenheim the 3 - 2 win.

Despite the early red card to Wolfsburg’s Maxence Lacroix in the 27th minute, Lovro Majer scored in the second half to give Wolfsburg the 1 - 0 win.

The last time out for Darmstadt was a six-goal thriller for Darmstadt against Hoffenheim. A penalty from Andrej Kramarix and Ihlas Bebou gave Hoffenheim the 2 - 1 lead at halftime, with Luca Pfeiffer scoring for Darmstadt. Skarke grabbed a brace in the second half, but another goal from Bebou meant both teams had to settle for a 3 - 3 draw.

Borussia Dortmund

In their last five games in all competitions, Borussia Dortmund have three draws and two losses.

In the Round of 16 of the DFB Pokal, Dortmund took on VfB Stuttgart. Serhou Guirassy and Silas both scored in the second half to give Stuttgart the 2 - 0 win, with Dortmund only managing four shots on goal.

Back in the Bundesliga, Dortmund hosted RB Leipzig. Mats Hummels was sent off in the 15th minute, putting Dortmund on the back foot from the start. Ramy Bensebaini’s own goal then gave Leipzig the lead, but Niklas Sule scored in the sixth minute of added time in the first half to make it level. However, goals from Christoph Baumgartner and Yussuf Poulsen rendered Niclas Fullkrug’s goal null and void as Leipzig won 3 - 2.

In the last week of the Champions League Group Stage, Dortmund hosted PSG. Karmin Adeyemi opened the scoring just after halftime, but Warren Zaire-Emery equalised just five minutes later as the game finished 1 - 1.

It was another 1 - 1 draw for Dortmund, this time back in the Bundesliga against Augsburg. Ermedin Demirovic gave Augsburg the lead in the 23rd minute but Donyell Malen drew Dortmund level before halftime. Despite having 24 shots and 64% of the possession, Dortmund had to settle for a 1 - 1 draw.

The most recent outing for Dortmund was yet another 1 - 1 draw, but this time against Mainz. Julian Brant grabbed his fifth goal of the season but Sepp van den Berg equalised before the halftime whistle. Dortmund again couldn’t convert any of their 22 shots and once again settled for a 1 - 1 draw.

Despite their troubles so far this season, this looks to be a three-point haul for Dortmund. However, with how much both sides are struggling this year, it’s likely to be a tight and low-scoring game.

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Darmstadt vs Borussia Dortmund can be streamed on NOW TV on Sky Arena.

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