Will FC Schalke 04 also rush to their next win against Darmstadt 98 next Friday (October 24th, 6:30 p.m.)? Quite possible, because the Royal Blues are in extremely good shape. Nevertheless, there are peculiarities of the upcoming opponent that could make S04 tremble.
It’s second against fourth when FC Schalke 04 hosts SV Darmstadt 98 in the Veltins Arena on matchday 10 of the 2nd Bundesliga (6:30 p.m.). sport.de-Live ticker).
A real – and especially unexpected before the start of the season – top game with slight advantages for the hosts, who have the second-best record after nine games in the 2nd league with 21 points and have already collected more points than in the entire second half of the 2024/25 season (back then there were 18). Only in the 1990/91 promotion season were there more points at the time of comparison, namely 22.
The current success is based, among other things, on a strong defense. Schalke only conceded five goals; the Royal Blue defense has never been so good after nine games in the second division. The Gelsenkirchen team remained without conceding a goal four times, as often as in the entire previous season.
So is the path to victory against the Lilies clear? Nope. In any case, the balance sheet is likely to cause concern for S04. After Schalke won ten of the first 15 competitive games against Darmstadt (two draws, three defeats), the Lilies won four of the last five meetings (one defeat), including in the last two guest games against Schalke (4:2 in November 2021 and 5:3 in September 2024).
In that last Darmstadt guest game against Schalke, S04 took a 3-0 lead, but then lost 3-5. The Royal Blues only lost a second division home game three other times and conceded five goals (including the 2:5 against Magdeburg in the previous season).
Schalke coach Miron Muslic and his team are also likely to be afraid of Isac Lidberg. Not only because he is the second best goalscorer in the league (eight goals), but because he has identified S04 as his favorite opponent. Lidberg scored five goals in the two duels with Schalke in 2024/25 (three in a 5-3 win in Gelsenkirchen, a brace in a 2-0 home win in the second half of the season). He has not scored so often against any other club in his professional career (and in just two games).
Further facts about FC Schalke 04 against SV Darmstadt 98:
- S04 furious: Schalke collected 9 points in its first 4 home games – already more than in the entire first half of the 2024/25 season (back then 8 points in 8 home games).
- S04 furios II: Moussa Sylla recently not only ended a drought of 6 games without a goal, but also scored twice against Hannover within the first 14 minutes and set a new second division record for the earliest brace by a Schalke player.
- With 18 points after 9 games, Darmstadt not only has twice as many points as at the same time last season, but is also on course for a record, because the Lilies have never been better in the single-track 2nd league. In 1987/88 (converted) and 2022/23 there were also 18 points after 9 games.
All highlights from the 2nd Bundesliga will be available immediately after the final whistle RTL+!