Miron Muslic: We’re absolutely ready for the next top-of-the-table clash

If the table is anything to go by, the fans at the Böllenfalltor can look forward to a high-quality match-up. Schalke, top of the table on 51 points, face their closest challengers, who are sitting two points behind the Royal Blues. Muslic is expecting a genuine top-of-the-table clash on the pitch: “Darmstadt are having an excellent season and deserve to be where they are in the table. They will provide us with a serious challenge, but we’ve also got a lot of quality and a lot of belief in our own strengths. We’re unbeaten so far against the other teams in the top six and we want to extend that run on Saturday.”

There was also a brief look back at last Sunday’s clash with Hannover 96 (15/3) during the press conference. Schalke were denied victory with the final kick of the game, as the visitors, currently fifth in the table, scored a late equaliser to make it 2-2 after playing for more than 40 minutes with an extra man following Edin Džeko’s red card. “That wasn’t an easy moment for us, it left its mark. When a win is taken away from you in the last second, it hurts enormously,” Muslic explained. The coach added that this now-more-than-ever mentality has been with the group for some time. “We’ve had to battle through adversity a number of times this season and we’ve always come back stronger. From what I’ve seen from the lads in training this week, we’re absolutely ready for the next top-of-the-table clash.”

The Schalke boss knows all about Darmstadt’s strengths. The two sides met twice within the space of a few days at the end of October 2025: Schalke won the league meeting 1-0 at home, before then losing 4-0 away to the Lilies in the second round of the DFB-Pokal the following week. “We used both games in our analysis – the outstanding win thanks to Moussa Sylla’s winner, and the heavy defeat as well,” Muslic revealed. “Defeats like that, as painful as they are, have helped us grow stronger as the season went on. Now we need that same collective strength again if we’re going to hold our own.”

The 43-year-old sees his opposite number as a key factor in Darmstadt’s success: “Florian Kohfeldt is doing an outstanding job as head coach. You only need to watch three minutes of one of their games to see his influence on the team.” Muslic also highlighted the Lilies’ dominance in both penalty areas, their solid back four, their intensity in the tackle and their match-winners in attack. “They combine real quality with excellent coaching, and that’s why they’ve been so successful.”

Both sides had to settle for a point last time out. While Schalke conceded that late equaliser against Hannover, Darmstadt were held to a 1-1 draw at 1. FC Magdeburg. At home, though, the hosts have been extremely strong. They sit top of the home table and, with ten wins from their 13 matches at the Böllenfalltor, they are the only side in the league still unbeaten at home. With 48 goals scored, Darmstadt 98 also have the best attack in the 2. Bundesliga.

Sylla to replace the suspended Džeko

Edin Džeko will not be involved on Saturday. The striker was initially handed a two-match suspension by the DFB after his red card, but Schalke 04’s appeal was successful. On Thursday afternoon, the ban was reduced by one match, meaning Džeko will miss only the game in Darmstadt and will be available again against Karlsruhe on Easter Sunday.

That does not mean Muslic is planning any major changes to his system or tactics: “We don’t want to change anything about our approach or our principles. If anything, we want to be even clearer, more solid and more intense in everything we do.” The Bosnian striker will be replaced on Saturday evening by Moussa Sylla, who scored the winner in Schalke’s 1-0 victory over Darmstadt in October and has often come off the bench in recent weeks. For Adrian Gantenbein, Christopher Antwi-Adjei and Anton Donkor, who returned to training during the week, this game will come too soon.