Our prediction for this Bundesliga match:
Hoffenheim will be aiming to climb to the Conference League berth when they take on Darmstadt on Matchday 33. Pellegrino Matarazzo’s troops showed character in a 1-1 draw with Leipzig and it is no wonder the odds for away win have been dropping. Talented midfielder Umut Tohumcu is back from suspension, while all Dennis Geiger, Stanley Nsoki, Mergim Berisha, and Marco John are out of contention with injuries.
The Lilywhites, on the other hand, failed to secure the Bundesliga survival. As the rock-bottom side have suffered four defeats in the previous five league matches, we are tempted to place our bets on Hoffenheim. Darmstadt defender Christoph Zimmermann serves a one-game ban due to the accumulation of yellow cards, while all Matej Maglica, Tobias Kempe, Bartol Franjic, Matthias Bader, Clemens Riedel, Klaus Gjasula, Fabian Holland, Braydon Manu, and Fraser Hornby are out of contention with injuries.
Highlighted Player (Oliver Baumann):
Oliver Baumann is a German goalkeeper who was born on 2 June, 1990 in Breisach. The 187-cm-tall shoot-stopper began his youth career at FC Bad Krozingen and in 2002 he joined Freiburg youth school. He started playing for Freiburg II at senior level and he made 22 appearances for the team in the 2009/2010 season. After making 131 appearances for the first team, he signed a four-year deal with Hoffenheim on 14 May, 2014.
Oliver Baumann played for Germany U18, U19, U20 and U21 teams and it has to be noted that he has 10 caps for the U21 team. However, he has yet to represent the senior team on the international stage. It has to be noted that Baumann made 33 league appearances for Hoffenheim in the 2015/2016 Bundesliga campaign, conceding 50 goals in the process.
The German goalkeeper managed to keep six clean sheets in the 2015/2016 Bundesliga campaign. He has a contract with die Kraichgauer which expires on 30 June, 2018.
Highlighted Team (Darmstadt):
SV Darmstadt 98 are a professional football club that compete in the German Bundesliga. Darmstadt were founded in 1898 and the club’s original name was FC Olympia Darmstadt. In 1905 the club changed its’ name to Sportvererien Darmstadt 98. Die Lilien (The Lilies) play their home games at Merck-Stadion am Bollenfalltor and the capacity of the ground is 17,000.
After spending 33 years in lower leagues, Darmstadt competed in the German Bundesliga in the 2015/2016 campaign, with the team finishing the season in 14th place in the standings, just two points clear of the relegation zone. Die Lilien wear blue shirts and white shorts and their main rivals are Kickers Offenbach.
The likes of Bruno Labbadia, Gino Lettieri, Zivojin Juskic, Kosta Runjaic, Lothar Buchmann are some of the most famous coaches that used to be in charge of the team in the past. It has to be noted that Darmstadt have won the Hesse Cup seven times (1966, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013).