First in the league, then in the cup: SV Darmstadt will face FC Schalke 04 twice in the next few days. Lilien coach Florian Kohfeldt speaks of a “50/50 game”, but his own record against S04 is significantly better.
SV Darmstadt 98 faces Schalke away on Friday evening (6:30 p.m.). “This will be an absolute top game in the 2nd league,” said Lilien coach Florian Kohfeldt at the press conference on Thursday. The table proves him right. Schalke is second in the table and can be overtaken by fourth-placed Darmstadt with an away win.
For this mission, Kohfeldt can again rely on the services of midfielder Kai Klefisch. The 25-year-old was recently missing from the Lilies due to thigh problems. “Kai trained with us yesterday and today without any problems. Now I have to weigh up what makes sense,” said Kohfeldt, emphasizing that Klefisch cannot yet play through the entire English week. However, the injured Fabian Nürnberger and the suspended Sergio Lopez will not be available on Friday.
Good memories of royal blue
The fans of the Lilies should still have good memories of the encounters with the Knappen from last season. At Schalke, Darmstadt achieved their first win of the season in spectacular fashion after being 3-0 down. Final score: 5:3. In the second half of the home game in February, the South Hesse team achieved their first win of 2025 (2-0).
The Lilien coach made it clear that last season’s games will not help Schalke: “This season’s Schalke has nothing to do with last season’s Schalke.”
Kohfeldt’s strong statistics
Kohfeldt has cut a noticeably good figure against Schalke in recent seasons. Of his ten games against Royal Blues, he won eight, there was one draw and only one defeat. He doesn’t know why the 43-year-old put up such good numbers against Schalke of all places. “I’m surprised when I read these statistics, but it has no meaning for tomorrow. I like playing at Schalke, it’s a great stadium, a great club, a lot of emotions. The energy that this arena can generate is a factor.”
From South Hesse’s point of view, Kohfeldt’s strong Schalke statistics can be underpinned once again in order to achieve two important victories, first on Friday and the following Wednesday.
