Darmstadt vs Union Berlin prediction: GERMANY: Bundesliga betting tips on match 2023-08-25 13:30.
After ending a six season absence from top-flight football, Darmstadt’s Bundesliga welcome party and 125th anniversary celebrations were spoiled by Eintracht Frankfurt (L 1-0) on the opening day, getting what is most likely to be a season-long fight for survival off to a poor start. But not only were Torsten Lieberknecht’s men far more competitive compared with their previous outing of the season, an embarrassing 3-0 DFB-Pokal elimination to fourth-tier 08 Homburg, it was also a big leap forward from last season’s 4-2 Cup exit at the hands of Frankfurt.
Darmstadt defender Christoph Zimmermann said the team drew “courage, confidence and confirmation” from keeping UEFA Europa Conference League hopefuls Frankfurt to one goal, and they will now welcome the presence of the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor faithful to aid in opening their scoring account this season. Their first home game of a new league campaign has proven quite fruitful recently in that regard, with Darmstadt losing only one of their last 11 opening home league matches across all divisions (W6, D4).
Visitors Union Berlin have begun the season in starkly contrasting fashion, after a free-scoring start saw them dispatch their fourth-tier DFB-Pokal opposition Walldorf 4-0 before beating Mainz 4-1 in their Bundesliga opener. Following a campaign that saw them continue a trend of successively higher Bundesliga finishes since their return to the top flight, Union picked up where they left off in search of bettering their fourth-placed finish of last season.
Manager Urs Fischer isn’t letting the gluttony of goals get to his head, stating that “there is still a lot to do” and “not everything will work out yet” as he figures out how to settle in several signings including Robin Gosens and Kevin Volland, neither of whom started against Mainz. Before they take on Europe’s elite with their inaugural UEFA Champions League appearance, the Iron Ones will have to negotiate what could be a tricky trip after losing all three of their previous visits to Darmstadt.
Players to watch: Mathias Honsak could be the man to get Darmstadt’s scoring underway, having netted the team’s opener in each of his last four goalscoring outings. Honsak’s efforts may not see his side take the lead should Union’s Kevin Behrens have his way again, after scoring a hat trick of headers against Mainz, including the club’s earliest goal in Bundesliga history (52 seconds)!
Hot stat: Union Berlin lost only two of their last 27 Bundesliga outings when starting as pre-match favourites (W19, D6).