Things could hardly be better for Darmstadt at the moment. Not only are they on top of the table in the second division after the away win at Karlsruher last weekend, but they also celebrated a surprise win against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the DFB Cup during the week. It is now a matter of taking the momentum of the last few days and landing the next win on Friday evening at the start of the 13th matchday. There is no doubt that Darmstadt is currently one of the most in-form clubs in German professional football. Coach Torsten Lieberknecht's team has not lost any of their last 13 competitive games in the 2nd Bundesliga or in the DFB Cup. Instead there have been ten wins and three draws in that span since mid-July. So it's no wonder that the atmosphere in the team is at an extremely high level. Despite the understandable euphoria, the coach stated that he will take this match as seriously and down to earth as possible. They play very well at home, this is supported, among other things, by the impressive home record in the current season. At the league level, 14 out of a possible 18 points came from six matches in front of their own fans. With the exception of the two draws against Heidenheim and Bielefeld, which are now a month and a half in the past, all home games have been victorious. A team that has five competitive wins in a row, has the third best offense and the third most stable defense in the second division and last lost a home game on April definitely has a good chance of bringing Holstein Kiel to its knees in front of a home crowd force.

A lot of teams in the second division of Germany are very similar in terms of quality and the home team is far from expecting an easy walk to victory today. Holstein Kiel has quietly and secretly improved in the last few weeks in the rankings. Before today's game, Kiel is already in sixth place. The recent improvement in form for coach Marcel Rapp's team is positive. They play very offensively and after the second-placed Paderborn, Kiel is the team that scored the most goals in the league. But unlike Darmstadt, who can equally rely on good defense as a foundation for success, Kiel's defense is a weaker part of the team. So far they have conceded 23 goals and only Magdeburg, which is in the relegation zone, conceded more goals than them. The data for the concern of everyone in Kiel is that of the 23 goals conceded so far, even 16 have been conceded away. I think we will see more than 2.5 goals in this match, but I give a slight advantage to the home team, who are in fantastic shape and encouraged by their victory in the cup, they want to play another great game in front of their fans.