1. FC Kaiserslautern plays its final home game of the 2024/25 season Sunday, at a sold-out Fritz Walter Stadium. (Facebook/1. FC Kaiserslautern)

The Red Devils play their final home game of the season Sunday at a sold-out Fritz Walter Stadium. Their opponent in the 1:30 p.m. match is FCK coach Torsten Lieberknecht’s former team, SV Darmstadt 98.

The game is meaningless for the 12th-placed Lilies, they can neither go up or down. But for Kaiserslautern, if it wants to keep its promotion dreams alive, a win is a must.

The Red Devils are in seventh place with 50 points. Ahead of them, also with 50, are Düsseldorf and Magdeburg. Paderborn is in fourth with 52 points, the same as Elversberg, which because of the better goal difference, sits in third place. That would qualify FCK’s wester neighbor for the two-game relegation playoff against the 16th-placed Bundesliga team.

Hamburg, with hopes of returning to the Bundesliga after seven years, sits on top of the second division with 56 points, one ahead of Cologne, which is three ahead of Elversberg.

With everybody on board except the injured Afeez Aremu and Hendrick Zuck, Lieberknecht can go with the same starting lineup against his old club, as last week. FCK fans are hoping striker Ragnar Ache can add to his 17 season goals on Sunday. He is tied with Elversberg’s Asilani Fisnik, and four goals behind scoring leader Davie Selke of Hamburg.

Next week the Red Devils travel to Cologne for the season finale. Despite being in second place, the Geissböcke (billy goats), fired their coach and hired for the final two games, Friedhelm Funkel, the man who saved the Red Devils from being demoted at the end of last season.