Maintain the Winning Momentum

After five long weeks, DAC finally returned to home action last weekend, and the comeback at the MOL Aréna could hardly have gone better. Robert Klauss’s side convincingly defeated Ružomberok 5–0, with five different players getting on the scoresheet.

Alongside our attacking key men Gagua, Trusa and Ramadan, two members of the defensive line also found the net: Nemanić and Trontelj. The latter scored his first Niké Liga goal and became the 221st player in DAC history to score in Slovakia’s top flight.

Ammar Ramadan has now scored 37 top-flight goals for DAC, drawing level with Rudolf Pavlík in fourth place on the club’s all-time list. Matej Trusa is seventh with 31 goals.

The emphatic victory strengthened our position at the top of the table. We hold a seven-point lead over Žilina and Spartak Trnava, and are eight points ahead of Slovan Bratislava. On Wednesday, we play the rescheduled Round 3 fixture, which was postponed due to our European commitments.

Slovan will also make up a postponed fixture on Wednesday, travelling to Trenčín. The Niké Liga table will therefore be complete again after a long period.

Robert Klauss: We Must Deliver Our Best Performance

“Another midweek match is always tough, especially when you have to travel and face such a long journey. Košice are also a quality opponent. They drew with Žilina in the last round, which demonstrates their strength, and that is reflected in the league table as well. However, we believe in ourselves, and our performances can back that up. If we give everything on the pitch and deliver our best, we have a good chance of winning again. The match against Ružomberok gave us confidence. Everything went very well from our perspective, but tomorrow will be a completely different game against an opponent of a different calibre,” said head coach Robert Klauss, who has the same squad available as last weekend. “Apart from Modesto and Gueye, every player is fit and ready to play. We will decide on the matchday squad and the starting line-up after today´s training session.”

The team trained at home today before setting off for eastern Slovakia

FC Košice: Sixth in the Table and Attack-Minded

Košice are coached by 50-year-old Peter Černák, who previously worked with DAC’s U19 team. He took charge of the side during last season, and Wednesday’s match will be his 30th league game in the Košice dugout. His record so far stands at 14 wins, nine draws and six defeats.

The eastern Slovak side currently sit sixth in the table. They have won three of their 11 matches, drawing six and losing two, with a goal difference of 25:22. A total of 47 goals have been scored in Košice’s league matches, the second-highest figure in the competition. Only Žilina’s games have produced more, with 53 goals in 12 matches.

Our opponents last faced Žilina, drawing 2–2 at home. So far, only Košice, Žilina and DAC have scored in every league match this season.

Wednesday’s fixture brings together two of the league’s most frequent shooting teams. DAC lead the statistics with an average of 16.10 attempts per 90 minutes, while Košice are close behind with 15.75. The league average is 12.78.

The contest between the Niké Liga’s leading scorers also promises to be intriguing. Matej Trusa tops the scoring chart with nine goals, while Ammar Ramadan and Košice forward Aleksa Maraš have both scored eight.

The 25-year-old Montenegrin striker Maraš joined Košice from Bulgarian side Botev Plovdiv in the summer. In addition to his eight goals, he has provided one assist, making him the eastern Slovak side’s most productive player.

The last five league meetings between the teams:

• 26 October 2024 – DAC–Košice 1–3. Scorers: Trusa (penalty) – Gallovič, Gorosito. Attendance: 4,047.
• 29 March 2025 – Košice–DAC 2–2. Scorers: Faško (penalty), Niarchos – Ramadan, Trusa. Attendance: 3,988.
• 20 April 2025 – DAC–Košice 3–2. Scorers: Trusa (2), Djukanović – Niarchos, Jones. Attendance: 4,930.
• 1 October 2025 – Košice–DAC 0–2. Scorers: Djukanović, Herc. Attendance: 2,182.
• 1 November 2026 – DAC–Košice 3–1. Scorers: Redzic, Gagua, Ramadan – Dimun. Attendance: 4,085.

History

Košice reached the top flight in the summer of 2023, just five years after the club was founded. Since then, we have faced them eight times, and at least three goals have been scored in seven of those matches. The average of 4.125 goals per game, together with the statistics outlined above, points towards another potentially entertaining encounter featuring attacking football.

We have played four league matches at the Košická Futbalová Aréna. In the 2023/24 season, we recorded a comfortable 3–0 win against the newly promoted side. Both meetings in the following campaign ended in 2–2 draws, while last season we beat the hosts 2–0 in eastern Slovakia.

In the 2025/26 season, Košice competed in the relegation group, which they eventually won, so we met them only twice. The aforementioned 2–0 victory came in the rescheduled second-round fixture in October, which had been postponed due to the eastern Slovak side’s European commitments. We then collected all three points at home in November, winning 3–1.

Our most recent visit to the Košická Futbalová Aréna, however, is not one we remember fondly. In March, we suffered our first defeat there, losing 4–0 in the Slovnaft Cup quarter-finals. Košice subsequently reached the final in Žilina, where they lost 3–1 to the hosts.

DAC’s Top-Flight Goalscorers Against Košice:

• 4 – Trusa
• 3 – Andzouana, Ramadan
• 2 – Krstović, Djukanović, Herc
• 1 – Záhradník, Goure, Almási, Redzic, Gagua

Current squad members are shown in bold.

Where to Follow the Match

Wednesday’s match will be broadcast live on:

• Voyo – online television service

Top-Flight Record

• DAC: 32nd season, 985 matches: 380 wins, 247 draws, 358 defeats; goals: 1,283–1,318.
• Košice: 4th season, 108 matches: 34 wins, 27 draws, 47 defeats; goals: 150–173.

Head-to-Head Record (from DAC’s perspective)

• Overall: 8 matches, 5 wins, 2 draws, 1 defeat; goals: 21–12.
• Away from home: 4 matches, 2 wins, 2 draws, 0 defeats; goals: 9–4.

The Košice–DAC league match kicks off on Wednesday at 18:00. The referee team is Malárik, assisted by Bednár and Čajka.