Darmstadt – Borussia M

We expect goals from both sides in this match

One of Tuesday's central fixtures in the German Cup will be played at the Stadio Böllenfalltor. Local Darmstadt 98 made it to the top of the Second Bundesliga after last weekend's final, leaving previous leaders Paderborn and Hamburg in turn behind. Borussia Gladbach crushed Bayern in the last German Cup in the 1/16 final with a 5-0 win, scoring thrice in the first half. In the next match, however, they suffered humiliation in defeat in Hannover, where they conceded three unanswered goals to the local club of the Second Bundesliga. In the upcoming game, bookmakers see the guests as favourites, offering them about the same odds as the home side's non-win in regulation time. Darmstadt 98 started the current season with a defeat in Regensburg, upsetting their fans for the first and last time so far. Since that defeat, the 98ers have not lost any of their twelve games. Although they have played Hamburg, Paderborn, Fortuna and Karlsruhe in the top half of the second division table. Darmstadt 98 have won all four league games in the last month, none of them against the underdogs. The hosts in the upcoming match have the leaders of their attacking line-up in good health: Titz, Manu and Kempe. Borussia Gladbach are having a better season than last season, but the current class of the team does not allow them to avoid unexpected failures. On the first day of October, Farke's side lost completely flat in Bremen, conceding four goals by the 37th minute. On the other hand, the club occupies the sixth place in the standings and are on par with Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig and a number of other fairly strong Bundesliga clubs. In the current season, Borussia have only failed to score against Freiburg and Mainz in eleven rounds. The last face-to-face meetings between the two sides took place back in 2017. At that time, both matches ended in a draw during the year. It's been a long time coming, but the approximate equality of the rivals, given the factor of Darmstadt's home field, should at least lead to an exchange of goals.