Dirk Schuster's SV Darmstadt 98 side play host to Viktor Skripnik's SV Werder Bremen this Tuesday evening at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor hoping to build up an impressive start to their Bundesliga career.

Overview and form

Both sides come into this game on the back of weekend defeats. Darmstadt were beaten by title-holders Bayern München while Bremen surrendered a last minute penalty and lost by a single goal at home to newly-promoted Ingolstadt. 

Prior to last weekend's matches, both sides were in good form. Darmstadt had previously beaten Bayer Leverkusen away from home whereas Bremen had won two on the spin, against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Borussia Mönchengladbach. 

Darmstadt have proven a tough but to crack at home since the beginning of the season, holding both Hoffenheim and Hannover to draws. Bremen's away form isn't bad either. They've picked up four points from a possible six available, taking maximum points away from Hoffenheim and a point from the capital.

Head-to-head

The two sides have only met on seven occasions, the last of which came way back in 1983. Bremen hold the upper hand, however, winning four of those seven meetings and drawing twice, with just the single win for Darmstadt, back in 1979.

Team news

Yannick Stark is expected to be Darmstadt's only absentee as he is recovering from an ankle injury. His absence aside, Schuster has a clean bill of health across the team.

However, Skripnik doesn't have such luxuries. He's without the injured trio of Raphael Wolf, Özkan Yildirim and Ulisses Garcia. He is also without the suspended Philipp Bargfrede after his red card last time out against Ingolstadt.

Key players

Marcel Heller is currently Darmstadt's top goalscorer. He scored a brace in their opening fixture against Hoffenheim. Dominik Stroh-Engel arguably poses Darmstadt's biggest threat, however. Despite not yet scoring this season, the former SV Wehen Wiesbaden has notched up 36 goals and 13 assists since joining the club in the summer of 2013.

Werder Bremen have quality at their disposal all over the park. The industrious Zlatko Junuzovic is likely to play a key role in the centre of midfield, and the Green-Whites will look to Anthony Ujah and Aron Johannsson for goals. Young Danish defender Jannik Vestegaard has proven to be a solid signing for the club since joining from Hoffenheim.

Thoughts from the camps

Skripnik spoke pre-match about the match. He said, "We have to shake off the negative thoughts. There are worse things in life. Only Darmstadt is all that counts now. I am confident that the loss has made us more determined to win."