As Darmstadt embark on a new campaign in the league, they will face Cologne, who are at the bottom of the table, at the Melk Stadium. Darmstadt, despite a good start to the season, have struggled a bit recently, with the team suffering three losses and two draws in their last five matches. However, they came away with a hard-fought point against Freiburg last Saturday, something they probably didn't expect. Torsten Lieberknecht's side will be pouring everything into this Friday's game in a bid to pick up their third win of the season.
Köln suffered their eighth loss of the season against defending champions Bayern Munich on Friday, and despite Harry Kane's goal making the game incredibly close, Köln struggled to pose a substantial threat to Bayern. Stefan Baumgart's men have struggled on the attacking end, scoring just nine goals so far this season, which is the main reason why they currently sit at the bottom of the table. However, the season is still a long way off and Cologne are capable of getting out of their current predicament considering they have finished seventh and eleventh in the last two seasons under Baumgarten. This Friday's road trip will be an important moment in their season, especially as the pressure grows on Baumgarten to improve their record.
Darmstadt could see the return of Christoph Kral, who was suspended against Freiburg for accumulating yellow cards, and he could replace Yannick Müller in the home side's back line. Fraser Hornby, Marcel Schuhein and Braydon Manu are expected to miss out due to injuries, while Fabio Tosiello remains a doubt. Klaus Jasula had come on as a substitute against Freiburg after ending his own ban and the Albanian international is hoping to be recalled to the starting line-up.
For Köln, the players who will be unavailable include Filip Pentek and Jacob Christensen, who are out with injuries, while Max Fingalafel, who missed the game against Bayern due to illness, should return again. Baumgarten had switched to a five-at-the-back against Bayern, but given the importance of this game for Köln's quest for all three points, he may revert to a four-at-the-back formation. As a result, Mark Utter is likely to rejoin the starting lineup in place of Luca Kilian after his recovery.
Darmstadt's expected starting lineup: Brunst Zollner; Zimmermann, Malika, Kral; Bader, Melhem, Hollander, Nurnberg; Skak, Pfeiffer, Honecker.
Cologne's expected starting lineup: Schwalbe; Carstensen, Hubers, Schabert, Heinz; Martel, Kainz; Tillman, Utter, Meiner; Selke.
