Darmstadt v Borussia Dortmund

Darmstadt vs Borussia Dortmund Preview

Darmstadt signed off form 2023 with an entertaining 3-3 draw away from home at Hoffenheim but nevertheless, that result extended the hosts' disappointing winless run in the German top flight to nine games overall, while Borussia Dortmund also stumbled out of the year with a point in a 1-1 draw at home with Mainz, resulting in just one win from their last eight matches overall.

Needless to say then that both sides will be eager to get this second half of the Bundesliga campaign off to a winning start on Saturday evening but this may be easier said than done particularly where Darmstadt are concerned as the hosts have been dealt no fewer than six defeats within their last nine games.

This poor sequence of results include four defeats on home soil at their Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor where they have suffered losses at the hands of RB Leipzig, Bochum, FC Cologne and Wolfsburg which have also contributed to Darmstadt's lowly position in the Bundesliga table where Torsten Lieberknecht's side sit bottom of the pile with just 10 points to their name.

Results at home also underline Darmstadt's problems in this campaign as the hosts have lost four of their last five games on home soil along with keeping just two clean sheets in their last 16 home games.

Borussia Dortmund also didn't have too much to celebrate at the end of 2023 as the visitors rather limped towards the Christmas break having managed to capture just one win from their last eight matches which came in the form of a 4-2 home win against Borussia M'gladbach.

However, four defeats and three defeats meant that Dortmund remain in fifth place in the Bundesliga standings but Edin Terzic's side have lost ground on the top four pack following this recent slump in form and they head into Saturday's clash with Darmstadt trailing RB Leipzig and the top four pack by a six-point margin.

Despite their recent downturn in form and results though, Borussia Dortmund have lost just these three aforementioned games against Bayern Munich, Stuttgart and RB Leipzig out of a total of 24 games overall in the domestic top flight and two of these three losses were inflicted upon Dortmund at their Signal Iduna Park.

Results away from home continue to be solid and consistent though as Dortmund have lost just twice in their previous 16 outings on the road which surely gives the visitors reason to be upbeat about their chances of returning to winning ways in this Saturday's clash.

Darmstadt v Borussia Dortmund Verdict

Borussia Dortmund have lost just once in their previous seven meetings against Darmstadt and the visitors look the more likely to take the spoils in this one.

Therefore, our main bet will be Borussia Dortmund win @ 1.53

Other side bets worth considering:

Borussia Dortmund win & Over 3.5 goals @ 3.00

Correct Score: Borussia Dortmund 3-1 @ 11.00